American Folk Art Museum

Although I took a 2-year Visual Arts course in high school, I never really studied folk art before. When I did some research on folk art, I realized that folk art was usually composed by peasants, tradespeople, and people of a lower status. Folk Art mainly stems from community tradition and culture. Knowing all this I analyzed Ralph Fasanella’ Watergate.

I noticed that in the middle of the painting was Yankee Stadium and to the right of Yankee Stadium was a Nixon Memorial. From the title and the depiction of the Nixon Memorial, I figured this painting was a reflection of the Watergate Scandal that Nixon tried to cover up in 1972. The painting itself was created 4 years later in 1976. I was confused about the depiction of Yankee Stadium, but when researched the artist I discovered that he was born in the Bronx. There was clearly a lot going on in the painting. It was as if each depiction represented a significant moment in the artist’s life. I think folk art is significant in capturing the eventful moments in history as well. This reminds me of the Birds with Skymirrors performance which depicted climate change, soon to be an eventful issue in history, in a more abstract and physical form.