Comic Or Folk Artist?

Some of your work, like Sleep Walker 2, above has a bit of a flat, folksy feel to it and your work definitely has humor, but I wouldn't label it either "folk art" or "comic art." You do have a unique style though. I really admire your work and some of the off the wall concepts you come up with.

Leah,

With everything we encountered, there seems to be a need for labeling ..to pigeon-hole..to put everything in "It's Place"..

I never allow labeling, good or bad, to affect me...AND BELIEVE ME, I'VE HEARD EVERYTHING

And when someone asks me, "What do call this stuff?"...My pat answer is , "I'll leave it up to you"

i'd say satirist if anything. i think of farms with folk art. and comic art could be anything. but whatever makes the sale.

i've been called a painter, illustrator (someone wanted me to illustrate their book). and so on.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I think it is important to remember that the vast majority of people we encounter, who look at our work do not have the art vocabulary or history background that we as artist do (or should). As they say, consider the source. perhaps that was the only reference the man had in order to make conversation. At that point you can either educate, or ignore. As I am sure you are aware your work has a fairly unique perspective. A the old 60s saying goes: just keep on keepin' on!

Let people call it as they see it.

An image means what it means to THEM. If they like it or even buy it, then I would have no issues with their verbal choice for my visual.

I have had highly conceptualized images for which I had lofty titles reduced to such descriptions as "that green paint splatter thing". The former is the ARTIST's perception. The latter is the VIEWER's perception. The two don't have to match. They just have to harmonize in some small way.

Leah,

Maybe you might want to label your own art to prevent some of this.

How do you see your art? I am actually very curious. I'd like to hear it from you, not someone else.

Dave

Leah, your work may have certain visual elements that some people might associate with folk art, without your actually being a folk artist. It's obvious that you are working with a high level of sophistication that is quite different than the archetypal folk artist mindset of naivetŽ.

Imagine though, that someone is trying to make sense of your work, so they can put it in a context they're familiar with. They are trying to compare and contrast your work with other styles they've seen, such as abstract art, or those styles that emphasize the bold painterly brushstrokes. And they don't see the painterly brushstrokes that they expect to see.

Your work, presenting recognizable forms, and doing so with inventive whimsy, might lead some people to make the comparisons that you've mentioned.

I was in a gallery on Newbury Street in Boston last month and saw a whole wall of paintings that were based on puns. Humor in art is well established and valid. I think the patrons like it best when they are let in on the joke unlike some of the work from people like Damien Hirst where the joke is at the expense of the public.

Your work may have influences from these sources but is unlike either when the surface is scratched a bit.

"I really don't get it."

It's simple: Either you give them the label you want to hear or they will come up with their own label.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

Funny you should ask!

I'd say whimsical but not folk, no. I pretty much agree with what MM said. Maybe dark whimsy?

Many of you had some really good points. Roger maybe you are right labeling shouldn't be a big deal it is what it is. I call myself a Humorist/Surrealist since that covers it all pretty much to answer some of your questions. Maybe you're right Kevin they might not know even different genres and not know what to call it lol.

Thanks MM

Eclectic, whimsical, semi-dark, pseudo-folk representationalism ... that'll give "impressionism" or "pointillism" or any other "ism" a run for their money.