I finally made it: The Visionary Art Museum

Ever since we moved to Virginia I have been hearing about the American Visionary Art Museum. Folk/Naive/Outsider art has always been some of my favorite art (that along with kids' art). as evidenced by my  earlier post about the exhibit in Milwaukee - So I have been anxious to get up to Baltimore to see it. Finally made it, and it did not disappoint! 

It is an unbelievable museum of spirited works inspired by nothing but life and the primal need to create. The work is soul-baring and poignant; It is funny and playful; It is a joy to behold.

You know from the minute you see the gleaming mosaics on the outside and then the giant Icarus flying in the stairwell (shown on the left) , that this is not your usual museum. The exhibits right now were themed "Parenting" and the stories told were from all sides of the coin - parent and child. Recounts of childhoods spent in danger or isolation were seen in all media. From a man who spent 30 years sculpting a "family" and then making detail costumes for each doll, to harshly scratched out drawings of a life spent hiding from addicted parents. An imprisoned father's depictions of life were shown  in detailed embroideries made from the unraveled socks he could get. So many lives told.

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One of the main exhibits was dedicated to Esther Krinitz, a woman who along with her sister, managed to survive the Nazi occupation. The rest of her family did not. The individual depictions of the events leading up to, during and after the war were made to tell her own family of what had happened. The labor of love showed in every stitch, and the details of those memories were just incredible. ​​

(Click on the image to read a larger version of this)

Here are just two of her images with the accompanying texts that were embroidered at the bottom:

(detail)

One of my other favorite displays ran along the spiral staircase. It was a ten yard machine sewn illustration of scenes sewn by a man at the suggestion of those who stopped by.
Here is his story, idea of what it looked like, and some details.

It was a heart-wrenching visit, saved from being overly emotional by the gift shop at the end. What a place of wonder! Every trinket, accessory and fun things you could want for yourself or to give as gifts... will definitely be back there for the holidays!