Maud Lewis - Canadian Folk Artist

[Dee]

[Dee]

A lovely ten minute documentary about Maud, including interview with Everett and real life images of the subjects of Maud's paintings.

[Dee]

I'm bringing a couple of quotes over from our discussion of 'Maudie' in Movie Nights.

Maudie, despite her handicap and pain never gave up on herself. She lived life with artistry, the painted pictures were the fruit of the love she felt for everything life gifted her with moment to moment.

~ DF

It is lovely isn't it that her spirit shines through her work?

~ MC

So here is the thing...

Would we love these pictures just the same if we didn't know the artist who has painted them? Would we think a child has painted some of them? And would that make it any less valuable?

I think Maud has made wonderful postcards and her little wooden panels were also delightful. A childlike wonder and admiration of the world is radiating from these pictures. Yes, her technique is somewhat childlike, but that is just charming! Bright colours, infectiously joyful moods, sweet nostalgia swirls in them... and there is so much love captured in these little cards. The pictures make you smile, they warm your heart. And that's just wonderful.

[Moonchime]

I'm coming back to this question - was in the process of answering last week when someone skyped me. I will return.

[Dee]

It's cool, I'll be here waiting for you, MC...

[Lori]

[Lori]

[Lori]

Such enjoyable videos - thanks so much, Dee. I'm particularly fond of the winter scenes. The sweet purity of it all! Her perspective is so satiating in what she "guesses up". Her cats are hilarious too, dripping in childhood.

[Lori]

Yes, opinions will differ on her work. Money may talk...

http://heffel.com/Artist/Buy/Canadian/Maud_Lewis.aspx

[Dee]

Well, look at that! Some of those paintings were sold for quiet a bit of money! Considering how little she charged for them herself.

I just cannot accept "childlike" as criticism. Quite frankly, I think it's a compliment.

[Moonchime]

I just love some of those pictures; the cats are so appealing and round and some of those scenes show quite a sophisticated level of foreshortening and perspective.

One of my favourites is the seaside one with the gulls but they all have an air of the celebration of nature and the everyday. I think she must have got great joy from the simple things in life; flowers, water, animals and the changing seasons. Her work has a real charm.

Dee wrote:

Would we love these pictures just the same if we didn't know the artist who has painted them? Would we think a child has painted some of them? And would that make it any less valuable?

Big questions Dee that I have been chewing on for some time.
Yes I think we would still get pleasure from the pictures even if we didn't know who painted them but whether or not we would love them quite as much is not at all certain. I think Maud's personality probably always added something to how people viewed her work originally and once word gets around then I think people start to project an expectation of appreciation which becomes self-fulfilling.
Success certainly breeds success and once an artist is accepted their work does not tend to be scrutinised in quite the same way again.

If we saw the pictures without knowing the artist we might like them and maybe think they were done by a child. To understand how that would affect the "value" depends on the relationship the viewer has with the artwork.

If the work was that of our own child then it is likely to have great emotional value to us (only) but no objective monetary value. I think that's because there is a generic similarity in children's work that is universal and commonplace and monetary value tends to go hand in hand with rarity - at least until the artist has made a name for him/herself.
For many centuries at least, it was the artist that showed a skill or talent no-one else did that caused a stir and became sought after.
The camera, of course, changed the direction of art and meant that much broader aims became the norm, but still it is something "different" and "rare" that is looked for.
The term Childlike is a rather loaded description and could be positive or negative depending on the context. Usually when someone says something/someone is "childish" it is an insult but "childlike" may not be.

There are the great things about being a child; innocence, enthusiasm and spontaneity to name but a few but a child is also work very much in progress; they are still developing and learning - it is very likely that their style of drawing, writing and talking will all change dramatically as they grow. So if a painting is childlike then perhaps it seems under-developed - with things yet to be mastered.

With Maud's work I think one of the biggest things that make her work "childlike" is her use of primary colours - her observation and drawing ability are perhaps more developed than they at first seem. Having said that luck probably did play a part in her advent to fame - that and her wonderful personality and sense of purpose.

[Dee]

Such a great post on the subject, MC, thank you for elaborating.

I think Maud's personality probably always added something to how people viewed her work originally and once word gets around then I think people start to project an expectation of appreciation which becomes self-fulfilling.

You've explained this so well and I think this is really at the heart of it. Along with your summary of what are the most exciting qualities of children:

There are the great things about being a child; innocence, enthusiasm and spontaneity to name but a few...

The three most important things, perhaps. From innocence stems genuity, a refreshing lack of pretence and cynicism that adults can rarely achieve. Enthusiasm makes them bold and adventurous, unafraid to experiment, joyous in their play with colours, shapes and subjects that are close to their hearts. Spontaneity is an interesting gift, that unfortunately adults need to teach children to control. It's a really difficult issue for teachers. One one hand we desperately try to keep this precious flame alive, but limits must be imposed as you simply cannot have a class of thirty children being all spontaneous throughout the day. As we grow up, we all need to learn to rein in our spontaneous reactions, - at the same time, the more we succeed, the more boring and robotlike we become...

So for me, if something is childlike, that is a huge complement. The most interesting adults are usually the ones who manage to retain their inner child. Often, the best pieces of art have childlike elements to it, wrapped in the sophistication of technique and wisdom that are the privileges of experience.