The Coleman Center for the Arts and Culture
Handmade, New Folk Art From Alabama, December 3, 2004 to January 8, 2005
showcases the diverse dynamics of folk art in the state of Alabama, ranging from story quilts, drawings, and paintings to brooms and assemblages. Diverse, spirited, and cleverly brilliant, these artists are Handmade: New Folk Art from Alabama.
Annie Tolliver: Annie began to paint under the influence of her father, Mose Tolliver, sitting at the foot of his bed, watching him paint. Although her work follows the style of her father, she incorporates her own charm and distinct sensibility into her pieces, generating the type of magnetism that attracts so many to her work. Annie Tolliver's work is included in the collections of The New Orleans Museum of Art, The Strombecker Corporation in Illinois, and The House of Blues. She was one of 12 artists selected for the exhibition Voices Rising: Alabama Women at the Millennium, which opened in the summer of 2000 as the state showcase at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Chris Clark: Chris is one the South’s most admired artists. Initially, he planned to become a teacher, but he later joined the Army, where he stayed for 7 years. He learned to quilt from his grandmother and began making and painting story quilts in 1987. His family somewhat skeptical, Chris persisted. Everything seemed to come to a startling halt in 1990, when he began to lose his sight. He was diagnosed with severe diabetes; after months of treatment and recovery, his vision cleared, and by 1991 he gained the attention of the art world. He first sold his quilts in a nearby flea market but soon came to the attention of folk art galleries. He is a current resident of Birmingham and regular participant at many art festivals and is a featured artist in the books, REVELATIONS and SPIRITS OF THE CLOTH.
Yvonne Wells: A former teacher and current resident of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Yvonne Wells is a truly remarkable artist. She began quilt making in 1979 with nothing but fabric and a pair of scissors in her arsenal. An individualist, Mrs. Wells is a self-taught artist who does not use paint to create her images but cuts the material freehand. Beginning with stick figures approximately 8-10 inches tall, she has progressed to until her figures cover entire quilts, as shown in a series of three self portraits entitled "Me Masked", in which the face occupies the entire surface of the medium. Biblical text and social/political themes are the prominent subject matter in most of her work, as shown in Portrait of a King II; a piece in an exhibition she presented at Auburn University, depicting the life of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. In 1989 she was included in an exhibition of African-American story quilts, curated by Eva Grudin at Williams College in Williamstown, Ma., and her acclaim has nothing but grown since. She is an internationally recognized artist whose work has been displayed in France, Japan, and other countries in Asia. Her quilts are located in major quilt and folk art collections across the country including a collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art. She was also given a solo exhibition by the Huntsville Museum of Art, and in 1998 she received the prestigious Alabama Arts Award and Visual Arts Craftsmen Award. She has had three of her quilts appear on Hallmark Greeting Cards. What’s more, a group of 24 of her early creations was recently selected to become a part of the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Mrs. Wells was invited to speak at the first exhibition of the Center's African-American quilt collection in February, 2001. From modest beginnings to colossal success, Mr. Robert Cargo, a retired professor at University of Alabama has it correct when he says, “Yvonne, keep on doing what you're doing.”
Butch Anthony:A resident of Seale, AL, Butch Anthony is a folk artist who specializes in painting and assemblage. His skills in carpentry, metal working and assembling together just about anything is even seen in his house/workshop and surroundings, and, most evidently, his art work. His home is an array of assemblages (birdhouses and wood/metal sculptures) that coalesces to create a stunning compilation, which both compliments his unique wit and style and engages almost all he meets. His other work, such as his animal and puppet assemblages made from hubcaps, teapots, plastic tubing, cans, wire, wood, bottles, rebar, old pots, pans and whatever he can get his hands on, has the same effect and is very popular at Kentuck, at which he is a regular participant. Described as “whimsical,” “endearing,” and “humorous,” Mr. Anthony’s work has allure that many accredit to his engaging personality. He is included in the book Self-taught, Outsider and Folk Art: A Guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources, and his work was also included in the exhibition "in Our Own Backyard: The Folk Art and Expressions of the Chattahoochee Valley" in Columbus, Georgia.
George T. Jones: With broom making in his blood, George Jones, Jr. gets his knack for broom craft came from his grandfather, George M. Jones, who managed a large tenant farm during the 1920s. More than fifty people lived on the land where cotton was the dominant crop, and when the Great Depression hit cotton prices fell, leaving the tenants in dire straights. The elder Jones conjured the idea of making brooms to supplement the farmers' incomes. In those days people used different brooms for specific tasks. They had kitchen and parlor brooms for indoors, and yard brooms to sweep away grass and weeds. Jones, Jr. loves making the brooms. On a good day he can make five to six dozen brooms, but he concentrates on quality, not quantity. As he winds a broom, he is totally focused on the task at hand, and yet totally relaxed. "I consider this my golf game," says Jones. "If I ever felt pressured to do this, I'd probably quit." Mr. Jones sells most of his brooms at art festivals and specialty shops. He has also received a Folk Arts Apprenticeship grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts to teach others this traditional craft.
John Henry Toney: Unparalleled and unique, Mr. John Henry Toney is one of Alabama’s most diverse artists. Also a resident of Seale, Alabama, Mr. Toney was encouraged attend Kentuck by and with his neighbor Butch Anthony. John specializes in drawing and is quite gifted. He began drawing as a youngster and recalls earlier in his life, working in a cotton mill, when he drew a picture of his boss. His boss hated the drawing and fired him. Deterred, he quit drawing until about 1994. While plowing a field, he came across a turnip that seemed to have an unusual face. He drew the face to show its curious make up, and the mayor of the town put a big price on it and placed it in his wife’s antique shop. Coincidentally, some art collectors came through one day and bought the drawing; and, subsequently, he became a recognized artist. His works, often done with markers on poster board, feature women, animals, cars and especially cattle and have been displayed in the Wiregrass Museum, The LaGrange Museum in Georgia, Fayette Art Museum and will be a part of an African-American art exhibition at Kennesaw University in Atlanta this winter.