Synopses & Reviews
Why, beginning in the late 1960s, did expressive objects made by poor people come to be regarded as "twentieth-century folk art," increasingly sought after by the middle class and the wealthy? Julia Ardery explores that question through the life story of Kentucky woodcarver Edgar Tolson (1904-1984) and the evolving public reception of his poplar "dolls."
The Temptation presents a vivid chronicle of folk art's ascendancy in the late twentieth century, enlivened by the voices and opinions of diverse participants in the folk art scene. Drawing on in-depth interviews with collectors and dealers, museum and auction house officials, and Tolson's own family members and friends, the book traces a twenty-year tug-of-war over the definition, sale, and interpretation of folk art. Unlike earlier studies, Ardery's work also links the popularity of folk art to larger historical forces: the civil rights movement and the War on Poverty in Appalachia, government and corporate arts sponsorship, developments in arts education, and an expanded art market.
Well illustrated and impeccably documented, The Temptation offers an engaging account of how a generation both reflected and reinforced its ideals through its fascination with crayon drawings, quilts, and wooden dolls.
Review
Absorbing.
Appalachian Journal
Review
[The book's] thoroughness and completeness of documentation are masterful.
Louisville Courier-Journal
Review
[This] will be of interest to any folk art enthusiast or cultural historian.
Folk Art Finder
Review
A welcome addition to the still all-too-slim library of thoughtful studies on key contemporary folk artists.
Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Synopsis
The tug-of-war over the definition, sale, and interpretation of 20th-century American folk art is revealed through the life story of Kentucky woodcarver Edgar Tolson (1904-1984) and interviews with key players in the folk art scene.
Synopsis
[Written] with a true storyteller's skill and the objectives of a journalist and activist.
American Quarterly Absorbing.
Appalachian Journal [The book's] thoroughness and completeness of documentation are masterful.
Louisville Courier-Journal [This] will be of interest to any folk art enthusiast or cultural historian.
Folk Art Finder A welcome addition to the still all-too-slim library of thoughtful studies on key contemporary folk artists.
Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [319]-341) and index.
Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Striped Pants
Chapter 2. Crafting a War on Poverty
Chapter 3. The Counterculture and "The Woodcarver"
Chapter 4. Art with a Capital "A"
Chapter 5. A Piece of the True Cross
Conclusion. The Temptation
Notes
Bibliography
Index
A section of color plates
Maps
1. Wolfe and Breathitt Counties, Kentucky
2. East-Central Kentucky