Janet Kay’s Musings

A couple of years ago I went to Washington DC to visit the Smithsonian. I took a side trip to Baltimore, Md on the train which is only about an hour out of DC. I had heard/read about the Visionary Museum but never seen it. It is, quite simply, amazing. It is filled with "outsider" art that is somewhat difficult to describe. There are not a lot of photos but check out their web site and it explains some of questions about "outsider" art---www.avam.org. I did hear that it is the most visited museum in the US by tourists from Europe, especially the French. The best would be a personal visit if you ever in that area. It will amaze you.

The display while I was there was "animals" with a write up on the wall near the entrance. The script said (and I paraphrase) "When I go into people's homes and they have deer heads and other stuffed animals on the walls, I ask them why they do that. Their answer is 'because they are such beautiful animals--I like to look at them.' I think my Mother is attractive but I just keep photos of her". The author of that statement is Ellen DeGeneres.

Another place to see an amazing collection of outsider art is the House of Blues--I love the one in New Orleans. After the show I got a tour with one of the musicians (love those musicians) and it took over an hour although I could have spent a week in that place.

My favorite online place to see art is the Museum of Bad Art--it is in Boston and they have a great web site, books you can buy and the best fun is the text with the art. Not sure who writes it, but they are genius with words. Not outsider art, just bad art which is very funny. Visit their site at www.museumofbadart.org.
There's enough art out there for all of us. We need to keep an open mind and treat the maker of said art kindly.