Folk Art! What is It? What Isn't It?

We hear the term folk art given to quite a few different kinds of art. Conversely, folk art itself is often called by a lot of other names. Among them are popular art or naive art, and outsider art. (For more about these, check my resources list at the end of the article.) While there are specific definitions for each of these kinds of art, these terms are still sometimes used when speaking of folk art and vice-versa. The reason this happens is that the specific definition of folk art is simply difficult to pin down.

In addition to lots of different kinds of art being termed folk art, lots of different things are called "folk art". Generally speaking, an item that is termed to be folk art is one that is born of the craft traditions and the traditional social values of the society where it is created. Usually folk art is made by folks who don't have formal training in the arts. The ability to create folk art is learned at the knee of a parent or grandparent or through an apprenticeship with a local artisan.

One defining factor of folk art is the fact that folk artists often are not setting out to create a work of art. Rather, a folk artist may begin a piece with the simple desire to create an everyday item. Pottery, woodworking, fabric work, quilting and weaving are examples of folk art. So the choice of a folk artists' work may be determined by the everyday needs of the people in the community with a bit of flair thrown in for good measure. This combination gives us what is called applied art. That is, artistic objects that have a practical use. When creating folk art, the artist uses well-known techniques and styles of his or her community. Methods familiar within the culture are followed. So, for example, a sheep-tending community would tend to have a lot of wool-related folk art. A farming community might tend to have folk art related to equipment used in farming and products of farming. This tendency toward cultural specificity leads folk art to include a variety of items. There some items that are really just for decoration. These would be paintings, sculpture, and so on. Then there are every day objects: clothing, quilts, household items and tools. These, too, are called folk art.

In fact, some antique folk art is not actually art at all. We call it that today, but lots of these pieces started out to be household items. These are things like tools, weather vanes, rag dolls, signs for stores, hand painted game boards, embroidered pillowslips, cast iron doorstops and cloth covered bricks and so on. These were practical items in constant use when they were new. Now they are prized works of art!

Everything about folk art tells us something about the people who made it. Folk art teaches us about the values and qualities of a society. Historians and anthropologists study folk art. For them it is a glimpse into ancient cultures. Often folk art can be found at archaeological digs. Here it takes the form of bowls, jars, or other pottery made by ancient cultures. By studying the details of these ancient folk art creations, archaeologists can find out about the time period in which a culture lived. Folk art can paint a picture of the daily lives of these folks. It can tell us what they were like and even why they are no longer here.

So you can see that many functional objects like clothing, furniture, houses, kitchen utensils, and more are often considered folk art. Even though these started out as everyday objects, in their final form they became objects of art. And these objects of art and daily use just keep on being made, even today!

To learn more about other kinds of art that are sometimes called Folk Art and to see pictures of Folk Art, visit these websites:

Popular Art

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_art

Naive Art

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na%C3%AFve_art

Outsider Art

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsider_Art

Traditional Art

http://browse.deviantart.com/traditional/

Folk Art In Photos

http://hubpages.com/hub/Folk-Art-In-Photos