Folk Art - Contemporary Folk Art

Contemporary Folk Art

Many folk art traditions like quilting, ornamental picture framing, and decoy carving continue to thrive, while new forms constantly emerge. Since the 1960s the embellished bamboo pipe or chillum has become an American folk art form. These pipes are handmade, meant to be used, and often sold by the artists on street corners in places like the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco and the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. As designs these contemporary smoking pipes recall traditional decorated bamboo pipes from Africa and Borneo, however, the American carved bamboo design often employs a brass lighting fixture for a bowl. Since the 1970s, street artist Darrel "Pipeman" Mortimer of San Francisco has made nearly 10,000 bamboo pipes with incised, tattoo-like lines, each signed, numbered, and sold personally. Hemp is a frequent motif while Native American themes and designs reminiscent of Victor Vasarely or M. C. Escher are also common.

Contemporary folk artists are frequently self-taught while their work is often developed in isolation or in small communities across the country. The Smithsonian American Art Museum houses over 70 such artists. In early 80s other uncanny artistic talent of well known contemporary folk artist exist one of these is Elito Circa as amangpintor the famous Filipino folk painter, his paintbrushes created from his own hair and uses his hair as texture of his canvas, uses his own blood as paint and signs his name with his own blood on the right side of his paintings. He developed his own styles without professional training or guidance from the masters.