Exhibition Review: PHOTO | BRUT : Collection Bruno Decharme & Compagnie at The American Folk Art Museum
Elke Tangeten (1968, Waimes, Belgium) Untitled; 2018. Embroidery on printed paper magazine 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. Collection Bruno Decharme Photo by A. Nandrin, La “S” Grand Atelier © La “S” Grand Atelier, Vielsalm B.
Text by George Russell
Photo Brut: Collection Bruno Decharme & Compagnie at The American Folk Art Museum is a colorful celebration of outsider art, encompassing hundreds of pieces from dozens of artists spanning a century. Perhaps more impressive than the scope of the show is the fact that almost all of these pieces are from a single private collection—that of the eponymous French film director Bruno Decharme. “Brut,” French for “raw”—referring to the artists’ untrained, unpolished style and technique—is the keyword throughout this striking exhibition: raw emotion, raw talent, raw struggle, raw suffering, raw joy. One folk etymology posits “brutal” as the root of “brutalism,” but it is instead this same “brut,” in reference to the austere, unfinished concrete emblematic of that style. The artwork at the American Folk Art Museum is likewise weighty and sometimes blunt, finding traction in bold, visceral expression rather than a fine-tuned facade.
Ichiwo Sugino (1965, Japan. Lives in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan); Untitled (the artist’s metamorphoses posted on Instagram); 2015 and later. Forty-two digital photographs. Photos courtesy of artist. © Ichiwo Sugino.
Ichiwo Sugino’s transformative caricatures in “Untitled (The artist’s metamorphoses posted on Instagram)” are hilariously accurate portrayals. The 42-photograph grid—selected from the hundreds of headshots posted online over several years—features Sugino, with beige packing tape and what looks like Sharpie stretching, pinching, and augmenting his face, made up as historical and pop culture figures. For some reason the directors, in particular, jump out at me—Sugino’s Hitchcock, Tarantino, Kubrick, Scorsese, and Lucas are dead ringers for the originals.
Tomasz Machciński (1942, Górki, Poland); Untitled, 1988. Gelatin silver prints from digital file, 11 7/8 x 8 3/4 in. Collection Bruno Decharme © Tomasz Machciński.
Tomasz Machciński, an earlier practitioner of the same kind of masquerade self-portraiture is seen here dressed and posed as Pope John Paul II, one of the many personalities that he has documented as part of his ongoing, decades-long project of impersonating public figures in front of his camera. Elke Tangeten’s colorfully needlepointed studio shot of crying babies in matching white crocheted outfits is odd and intriguing. A departure from her usual subject material of religious iconography, this image, woven through with red and blue yarn, transfigures a commonplace family photo into a surreal scene of cuteness and angst.
Lee Godie (1908, Chicago, Illinois, United States—1994, Plato Center, Illinois, United States); Untitled; n.d. Color silver print (from photo booth), retouched with ink Attached to piece of paper with inscription “Did I or Could I sketch you Now, Lee,” 4 1/2 x 3 5/8 in. Collection Bruno Decharme.
Several photo-booth images by Lee Godie, the Chicago street artist, are on view.
These self-portraits, some altered—hand-tinted with colored pencil, signed, or painted in the margins—are unshielded and intimate. The artist poses and preens, looking off heroically into the middle distance and presenting her paintings for the camera.
Along with Tangeten’s pieces, Steve Ashby’s sculptures are part of a section of the show incorporating found images. His untitled wood and magazine clipping sculpture elevates the sepia newsprint scene of domestic happiness—heartbreaking or uplifting depending on what angle you approach it from.
Steve Ashby (1904, Delaplane, Virginia, United States—1980, Delaplane, Virginia, United States); Untitled; n.d.; Wood, magazine clippings, lace, and metal 10 3/8 x 5 5/8 x 2 5/8 in.; Collection of Robert A. Roth Photo by John Faier.
Perhaps more than any exhibition of professional works, this collection of disparate, passionate, sometimes mysterious pieces makes you wonder fiercely about these self-taught artists’ lives, experiences, and methods. Some of the works are of unknown provenance, by unknown artists, but there remains a dearth of information even about the more widely known artists shown in this collection. The tantalizing lack of detail does little to detract from the impactful exhibition. These pieces are immediately relatable, warmly human, and deeply evocative, pointing to the creative drive common to both artists by training and artists by inclination.
Photo Brut: Collection Bruno Decharme & Compagnie is on display through June 6th, 2021 at The American Folk Art Museum
