How have local art communities and folk artists expressed their experiences in the confluence region?
Section Overview
This resource section highlights a few art communities in the confluence region, focusing specifically on artists who worked with the People’s Art Center and the Black Artists’ Group as well as folk or outsider artists working at similar times. This section celebrates the local knowledge preserved by communities in the confluence region. By viewing these works as a group, you can see how they become members of one overarching community of makers compelled by their shared need to express their worlds through an artistic object. Every one of them speaks to their local communities as well as establishes a broader national dialogue.
This section is divided into three chapters: “People’s Art Center,” “Black Artists’ Group,” and “Self-Taught Artists.” For each chapter you will find an overview, selected works of art, looking prompts, and information about each artwork. At the end of this page, you will also find connection activities that apply to multiple subject areas, a looking guide containing images of the artworks that may be used in class settings, a slide presentation with artwork images and questions for discussion, and relevant standards connections.
Art Communities Introductory Video
Art Communities Introductory Text
Many artists in the confluence region sought to create art in the company of like-minded colleagues. The communities they established were grounded in a variety of shared artistic or social beliefs. Some lasted only briefly, while others endured for a lifetime. Some groups achieved national recognition, while others remained regionally focused. It is easy to overlook regional dynamics when considering nationally known communities or artists. Bringing these groups back into a local context proposes that the local and the national have a much more interwoven relationship than suggested by a view based solely on individual reputations.
Whether they were joined by their artistic styles or their social views, and whether their associations lasted for a short period or a lifetime, these artists found fertile ground in which to develop their visions in the creative atmosphere sustained by the company of others. Well-known regional art communities included University City Ceramics, which emerged when Edward G. Lewis discovered a vein of porcelain clay running through University City while constructing his American Woman’s League organization and correspondence school. Upon discovering the porcelain, he added a pottery to the building and sought to make University City a global center for ceramic art. Though the pottery operated only from 1909 to 1914, it became known as one of the most original Arts and Crafts potteries in the United States. Other art communities highlighted in the exhibition include Ste. Genevieve Art Colony, New Deal arts projects, such as the Federal Art Project and the Works Progress Administration, the People’s Art Center, and the Black Artists’ Group. In addition, the exhibition considers ways that such groups paved the way for expanding and reconsidering mechanisms for defining and judging art, opening doors for self-taught and outsider artists to gain greater recognition.
Key Terms
Community
Community can have multiple meanings. It can define a shared location or geographic area, or exist through shared social connections such as race, values, religion, customs, gender, ability, and interests.
Collaboration
Working together with others to achieve a goal or outcome.
Art Community
A group of artists creating artwork together and sometimes living together in a location dedicated to shared beliefs and ideals.
Artist Residency
A program to support artists to create artwork for a designated length of time. Artist residencies are often associated with organizations such as museums, schools, or community organizations.
The New Deal Federal Art Project
A program in which the United States federal government hired artists to create artworks across the country as part of a plan to stimulate the economy during and after the Great Depression.
Works Progress Administration
A United States federal government agency that employed workers, such as artists, to complete projects as part of the New Deal, which was a series of programs enacted by former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1939.
Questions for Discussion
As a class, explore the concept of community.
- What do you think of when you hear the word community?
- Create a class definition of community.
- What does it mean to be a member of a community?
- What brings people together in a community?
- What might lead someone to join or identify with a community?
- To be a community, must members like each other?
- What might lead artists to create together in a community?
- What are some different communities that you have been a part of (for example, sports teams, school communities, neighborhoods)?
Selected Works of Art
Follow the links below to view highlighted works of art for this section, explore looking prompts, and learn more about each work of art.
People's Art Center
The People’s Art Center in St. Louis was founded in 1942 under the Federal Art Program. Remarkable as the first interracial art center while much of the city was segregated, it offered African American artists opportunities to study and exhibit.
Black Artists' Group
During the nation’s political turmoil of the 1960s, African American collectives formed to envision and enact a self-determined Black identity. Established in 1968, the Black Artists’ Group in St. Louis was one of the nation’s most interdisciplinary collectives.
Self-Taught Artists
In the 1930s and the 1960s the desire to situate art in the lives of everyday people encouraged the recognition of an expanded context in which art is produced and encountered, leading to a broader appreciation for artwork made by artists who learned their practice outside formal education settings.
Art Communities Connection Activities
Communicate
Communication is an essential component of teamwork. Clear communication can also help communities such as the ones discussed in this section work together, develop collective goals, and share ideas. There are many ways to communicate, including writing, speaking, drawing, music, and movement. Practice relaying ideas through different forms of communication. Find a partner. Choose an artwork from the online collection at slam.org. Describe the artwork to your partner using only spoken words, no movement or other sounds. Your partner will draw the artwork they envision from the description given. Trade roles and see what more you can discover about communication.
Try the activity using written language. Choose an artwork. Write a detailed description of the artwork. Imagine that you are writing a letter to a person who has never seen the work of art, and you would like them to be able to imagine it as clearly as possible. Include details and descriptive words that will help them visualize this artwork. Trade your description with a partner and have them try to draw the artwork from your written description. Try to draw your partner’s artwork from their description.
Compare your results with the work of art. What was challenging about this activity? What did you learn from the exercise?
Research
As a small group, choose one of the artists or communities from this section to research. See what you can discover about this artist or art community by researching at your school library, online, through art or history museum websites, or at your local library. As a group, choose the core information you would like to share about this artist or community from your research. Develop a creative way to present your research, such as poetry, music, visual art, performance, or dance. Consider the variety of skills and talents you have collectively in your group to help bring your project to life.
Write and Draw
A letter or postcard can help foster a sense of community, even if people are in different places. Create a postcard to share something about one of these artworks with a friend or family member. Cut a sheet of card stock or cardboard into a postcard-size rectangle (postcards are generally between four by six inches and five by seven inches). On one side draw a picture inspired by a work of art from this resource. On the other side write a message about the artwork. Leave space on the back side to write the address of the person to whom you would like to send the postcard. Attach a stamp and send the card, or take a photograph and email or text your postcard to your friends and family members.
Create
Imagine inviting an artist or a group of artists who created artwork in this section to a dinner party. Who would you invite? Draw a placemat for the event. On your placemat, write a list of questions or topics you would like to discuss with the artist or group of artists over dinner.
Extension
Imagine further: would you invite other guests to the dinner party? If so, who would you include? What might you serve? Where would the party take place? Design an invitation for your party. Include details that would appeal to your guests. Be creative—it’s your party!
Explore
The artists in this section found inspiration for their artwork from a variety of sources, such as nature, found materials, history, and personal memories. Consider where you might find inspiration for your own creative work.
Explore your environment. Using paper and pencils, charcoal, or pastels, collect rubbings of textures you find. Label your textures with the object or material you rubbed, then share your discoveries with your classmates.
If you’re comfortable, close your eyes for a short while and collect as many sounds as you can. Then open your eyes and let your eyes wander. Notice colors, materials, and actions happening all around. Write a list or draw pictures of things that you found interesting or inspiring.
Create an inspiration board: explore subjects, images, songs, books, people, or ideas that you find interesting. Collect images that represent these areas of interest. You might use textures or images that you collected as you explored your surroundings, or you might find these images in magazines, books, or newspapers. You could also create your own images by drawing, photographing, or printing images from an online search. You might want to write words or ideas on your board or on a separate paper that you can glue with your images. Arrange the images and/or words you have gathered on a sheet of paper or cardboard. When you have an arrangement you are happy with, glue them down.
Extension
Learn more about the individuals in your class community by sharing these inspiration boards as a class.
Write
One of the themes that Manuel Hughes explored in his paintings was the relationship between human beings and machines. Imagine if his painting Untitled were transformed into a machine. What type of machine might it be? Write an instructional guide on how to operate the machine, providing step-by-step instructions. Consider including drawings to help teach users how to operate the machine.
Explore
Explore the idea of community and how it relates to your own life. Write a list of as many communities you can think of that you believe you belong to. This includes racial identity, clubs, church, sports teams, and more. Create a mind map to illustrate the different communities that you are part of and possible connections between them.
Extension
Have a friend help you trace an outline of your entire body on a large piece of paper and write the names of each community you belong to directly onto your body drawing. Decorate your personal drawing to represent yourself and the communities of which you are a part.
Write
-
-
Frederick “Fritz” Baurichter, American (born Germany), 1850–1937; Hummingbird, c.1904–1910; painted wood; bird only: 3 3/4 x 5 1/4 x 6 inches; Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis 2021.51
Communities are comprised of people who have unique personal stories, journeys, and experiences. Imagine that Frederick “Fritz” Baurichter’s Hummingbird and Rooster were best friends. How might they support or help one another? Write a short story about their friendship. Consider what makes them unique and how their differences could be helpful.
Create
Communities are filled with helpers. These are individuals whose jobs or skills help others. Create a list or draw a picture of different types of helpers that you can identify in your community. Then choose one of these helpers to thank. This could be someone you have met personally or it could be a group of people, such as doctors, firefighters, or teachers. Draw a thank you card and mail or personally deliver it.
Create
Communities can be social or geographic. In this activity, build a map of your geographic community. Begin by choosing the geographic community you would like to illustrate. Think about how specific your location will be, such as a neighborhood or a whole city. Draw a sketch of your location. View other maps of the area in the library or online for reference, then build a three-dimensional map of your geographic community using recycled materials.
Standards Connections
The content in this resource has been designed to align with Missouri and Illinois state learning standards and competencies across a variety of grade levels. For each section we have highlighted a selection of social studies and visual arts standards that have strong connections to the content and activities presented. There are a number of other standards and content areas, such as English language arts, that may also connect with these resource materials. Select the links below for access to key standards and related resources.
-
Missouri Learning Standards
Visual arts
VA:Re7A.k Identify uses of art within one’s personal environment.
VA:Re7B.5 Identify and analyze cultural associations suggested by visual imagery.
VA:Cn11A.8 Distinguish different ways art is used to represent, establish, reinforce, and reflect group identity.
VA:Cn11A.7 Analyze how response to art is influenced by understanding the time and place in which it was created, available resources, and cultural uses.Social studies
3.RI.6.D.a Describe how people in Missouri preserve their cultural heritage.
2.EG.5.C.c Describe human characteristics of the students’ region in Missouri.
6-8.AH.5.PC.E Trace the development of African American culture in free states and in the context of slavery.
6-8.GEO.2.PC.E Describe how a peoples’ culture is expressed through their art, architecture, and literature. -
Illinois Learning Standards
Visual arts
VA:Re7.2.5 Identify and analyze cultural associations suggested by visual imagery.
VA:Cn10.1.7 Individually or collaboratively, create visual documentation of places and times in which people gather to make and experience art or design in the community.
VA:Cn11.1.6 Analyze how art reflects changing times, traditions, resources, and cultural uses.Social studies
SS.H.2.6-8.MdC Analyze multiple factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.
SS.CV.4.3 Describe how people have tried to improve their communities over time.
SS.CV.1.3 Describe ways in which interactions among families, workplaces, volunteer organizations, and governments benefit communities.
SS.H.2. Describe how significant people, events, and developments have shaped their community and region.
SS.IS.3.3-5 Determine sources representing multiple points of view that will assist in answering essential questions.English language arts
Illinois Learning Standards and Instruction