OCTOBER 2021 – brutjournal

ON THE OCCASION OF A RECENT EXHIBITION OF WORKS BY THE BIKER-TURNED-ARTIST NORBERT KOX, CATHY WARD RECALLS VISITING THE LATE PAINTER OF APOCALYPTIC VISIONS AT HIS HOME IN WISCONSIN. SEE THE BIG PAGE!

THIS IS THE PLACE FOR DISCOVERIES AND DISCUSSIONS OF THE MOST INVENTIVE ART FORMS – ALL KINDS OF ART THAT IS FAR-OUT, FANTASTIC, FREE-SPIRITED, FUN, FUNKY, PHENOMENAL AND GOOD FOR THE SOUL. (MAMA CALLED IT SUI GENERIS)
SUBSCRIBE, BABY. RIGHT NOW!

IN THIS ISSUE, DON'T MISS THESE FEATURES

Editors Letter

What the heck is brutjournal?
by Edward M. Gómez

Musings:

Let’s Go Get Stone(henge)d
with Jeffrey Vallance, Martha Bayless, Wendy Snyder, and David Bjerklie

St. Louis, Missouri:

An experienced collector has his eyes set on some art filled with beguiling eyes
by John Foster

New York City:

A street artist’s middle-of-the-avenue self-expression provokes controversy
by Jon Waldo

EXCLUSIVE ART PORTFOLIO: THE EYES HAVE IT!

This month, all eyes are on works of art featuring eyes and eyeballs as prominent motifs in their compositions. A wide range of artists have shared their eye-catching creations with us, from paintings whose ocular subjects stare out probingly at their viewers to odd folk art offering eyefuls of quirky charm. On the BIG PAGE, see, too, collector John Foster’s selections of eye-filled art. Hands down and shoulder to shoulder, the eyes have it!

RON’S PLACE: AN INTERVIEW WITH JAN WILLIAMS

Ron Gittins (1937-2019) was an eccentric self-taught artist who lived in a semi-detached, Victorian-era house in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, not far from Liverpool. He filled it with frescoes, papier-mâché sculptures, and many odd knickknacks. Now, his niece, Jan Williams, and her collaborators are trying to preserve this art environment for posterity. Cathy Ward interviewed her for brutjournal about this ambitious project.

RON’S PLACE: A VISITOR SURVEYS THE SCENE

The phenomenon of self-taught artists’ art environments — houses, gardens, or other architectural or outdoor spaces constructed and filled with their own creations, often over periods of many years and almost always for deeply personal reasons — is one of the most intriguing in the annals of any place’s cultural history. Cathy Ward was moved and puzzled by what she found when she visited Ron’s Place in northwestern England. Here is her firsthand report. Free access to this article.

TODAY’S EYE ART

This month, brutjournal celebrates the optical with a big portfolio of eye-themed art. Above: Unknown artist from the U.S. Midwest, “Last Judgment,” mid-20th century; oil; enamel on wood, 17 x 11 in (43 x 28 cm). Photo: Steven S. Powers/Joshua Lowenfels Works of Art & Americana. See the article on the home page for more beautiful eyes.

LUCIENNE PEIRY, EXCLUSIVE BOOK EXCERPTS: ART BRUT WRITINGS, EXTRAVAGANT GRAPHOMANIACS

The Swiss art historian and curator Lucienne Peiry’s latest big, insightful, illuminating book examines art brut creators who integrated real or imaginary writing into their distinctive compositions in various media. It serves as the basis of a new exhibition opening on October 20 at the Museum Tinguely in Basel, Switzerland. Now, read excerpts from the book in English — a brutjournal exclusive. Free access to this article.

ART-MAKING: KNOWING WHEN TO DRAW THE LINE

Nowadays, studio-art departments in many art schools are still dominated by postmodernist critical thinking; in them, there is little emphasis on what used to be called the fundamentals of art-making — developing technical skill in drawing and the handling of materials. For some artists, though, drawing is the very starting point of what they have to say, and their appreciation for line-making is profound.

GALICIA, SPAIN: ESCUREDO’S ART ENVIRONMENT

The self-taught artist José Escuredo Vega (1917-2004), who was also known as “Pepe de Barrio,” was born and brought up in a tiny village in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain and remained closely tied to his native land throughout his life. In a second exclusive report for brutjournal based on her on-location research, Jo Farb Hernández describes Escuredo’s site-specific art environments, which he called his “museums.”

MARTHA WILSON, ALL OVER PARIS

Martha Wilson was the founding director of New York's Franklin Furnace Archive, a former alternative-space arts venue that is now an online research resource and sponsor of artists’ grants. She is also an influential performance and visual artist. Now, her solo exhibitions are opening in Paris at the Musée National d’Art Moderne (Pompidou Center) and at mfc-michèle didier. Her work will also be seen at the new Bourse de Commerce/Pinault Collection. Free access to this article.

HERE, THE FILM “VALTON TYLER: FLESH IS FICTION” FINDS A HOME

The self-taught artist Valton Tyler (1944-2017) lived and worked in Dallas, Texas, and its environs. He created remarkable works — oil paintings, ink drawings on paper, complex etchings — that remain hard to classify according to existing style or genre labels. In 2017, Edward M. Gómez (brutjournal’s founder) and cinematographer Chris Shields made the first-ever film about Tyler’s life and art, which the artist saw before he died. This 42-minute-long film will reside permanently here, on the magazine’s website. It may be viewed in its entirety, free of charge. Watch it and get to know the bright, bizarre world of a techno-baroque visionary. Free access to article and film.