My Media Analyses: Folk Art

Yes , it’s cliché…

When I hear the term “folk art” I immediately picture quilts with mismatched swatches of fabric. I envision myself rummaging through a pile of them on a wooden table at a summer church bazaar. There is a modest, older woman who rocks steadily to the beat of tinny gospel music while watching me and my fellow shoppers sift through her Americana-themed craftwork. It’s cliché, I know….

What is folk art, anyway?

Merriam-Webster advises that folk art is “the traditionally typical anonymous art of usually untrained people.” I also like the insight from Wikipedia- “Folk art is characterized by a naïve style, in which traditional rules of proportion and perspective are not employed." Here’s what that looks like:

People may believe that in a digital society, such as ours, folk art has blown away in the wind (like Bob Dylan). Henry Jenkins explains that, “(t)he story of American arts in the twentieth century might be told in terms of the displacement of folk culture by mass media” (p. 139), but I argue that it is actually thriving, stronger than ever, thanks to digital media.

Who are today’s folk artists?

As society has shifted away from a labor-focused workforce to office-centered career-seekers, more people have pent-up energy, which is being honed on hobbies and crafts. In short, people are looking for creative outlets to offset the drudgery of life in corporate America. From my small circle of influence, I can point to a teacher who brews his own beer, an engineer who plays in a garage band, and a professional couple that grows their own fruits and vegetables and cans them on the weekends. All of these crafts can be considered folk art. Thus, folk art is a means of creative expression for common folks, like me.

The role of digital media in folk art…

Recently, my husband told me about his artist friend, who is selling a few pieces from of one of his art collections. He quickly pulled up a website from Peru, to show me the selection. I was very surprised to see that these were non-traditional graphic renderings. I don’t know why, but I expected to see paintings or drawings, instead of elaborately detailed, computer-sketched birds. And, the fact that he could share this with me over the internet was also incredible. This is an example of how artists are integrating computers into folk art.

But there are two more-prominent roles for digital media in folk art: first, it is a means of advertising and connecting buyers with sellers/artists, and second, it is a networking channel for artists.

Informal folk artists previously had limited venues in which to display their works to others, like craft fairs or specialty stores. Today, however, there are scores of websites that connect folk art creators with buyers.

Take Etsy, for example- https://www.etsy.com/. Their slogans include, “Whoever you are, find whatever you’re into,” and “Your place to buy and sell all things handmade.” In accessing the site and typing “folk art,” seven categories come up: Arts and Collectibles (59k+ items); Home and Living (34k+ items); Craft Supplies and Tools (13K items); Jewelry (6k+ items); Paper and Party Supplies (3k+ items); Toys and Games (3k items); and Clothing (2k+ items). That’s around 120,000 items that artists didn’t have to peddle on the street or at fairs and events. They simply registered online, paid a $0.20 listing fee (per item), and agreed to pay a 3.5% transaction fee, as well as a 3% + $0.25 processing fee. That’s four months of exposure to millions of people for $ 6.95 (for a $100 item- as an example). Booths at craft fairs are rarely less than $50 and go up to the thousands for larger venues. Honestly, where else would one sell a Frida Catlo pillow or a plane made from Miller cans?

Okay, the answer is Ebay- that’s where. Ebay is a close competitor to Etsy when it comes to folk art sales. Once again, just type in “folk art,” and you’ll find close to 86,000 listings.

Furthermore, the internet also facilitates folk artist forums and connections that were previously restricted by geography and the challenge of figuring out who else had an interest in your craft. In Google, I searched for “folk art forums” and found a plethora- like FolkArtist.org, Folk Art Forum for Amazon Sellers, and WeeFolkArt.com. In addition to forums, there’s blogs, and chat rooms, and more.

So, if you have that inner desire to sew that patchwork quilt, ditch the church bazaar and and jump on the internet!