folkartwork

Short on time? Can’t stay awake to watch a 90-minute film like myself? Look no further than these incredible short documentaries on some of my favorite outsider artists, folk artists, and art environment visionaries. All films range from 5 mins to 30 mins long but pack enough punch to leave you speechless. 

1. “Possum Trot: The Life and Work of Calvin Black” (1977)

Part of the “Visions of Paradise” series on contemporary folk artists directed and produced by Allie Light and Irving Saraf 

Calvin Black was a folk artist who lived in California’s Mojave Desert and created more than 80 life-size female dolls, each with its own personality, function, and costume. He also built the “Bird Cage Theater,” where the dolls perform and sing in voices recorded by the artist. – FolkStreams

There’s no chance you can watch the first two minutes of “Possom Trot” and turn it off. This buried treasure of a film was put together a handful of years after Calvin Black died in 1972, following wife Ruby in and around “Possum Trot” as you meet Calvin’s cast of characters. As you take in one talking doll after the next — oh, that one is riding a stationary bike that is powering a windmill — you also feel as if you’re breathing the sand and dust kicked up from tourists looking to get a front-row seat to the next show. Then, as you continue to wind in and out of these structures, you notice yet another tremendous homemade sign you can imagine and hear Calvin sternly but politely asking you to keep your voices down as the show begins. The imagery and story told by filmmakers Allie Light and Irving Saraf make me truly happy and I can almost guarantee it will also make you happy. 

Read more about The Life and Work of Calvin and Ruby Black

2. “Maud Lewis, a World Without Shadows” (1976)

Directed by Diane Beaudry

“Set against a background of her paintings and the Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, landscapes they depict, this short documentary is a portrait of the life and work of one of Canada’s foremost primitive painters, Maud Lewis. Emerging from her youth crippled with arthritis, Lewis escaped into her painting at the age of 30. She had never seen a work of art and had never attended an art class but her paintings captured the simple strength, beauty and happiness of the world she saw – a world without shadows.”

3. “Folk Art Found Me” (1993)

Directed by Alex Busby 

“Who are these people from Nova Scotia!? and what is folk art!? Folk Art Found Me is a direct and humorous documentary that allows the artist to explain what real folk art is. These artists have a raw, passionate inspiration to create, entirely without pretension. In one instance, the three Naugler brothers–Bradford, Leo and Ransford–from Lunenburg County tell the story, one by one, of how they switched from auto-body work to sculpture and painting. Other featured artists are Sidney Howard, Wesley Hubley, Eddie Mandaggio, Garnet McPhail and Harry Whitney. The film includes the views of two curators, “Mister Folk Art of America,” Bert Hemphill and Chris Huntington. Folk Art Found Me provides a knowledgeable, visceral view of the subject, celebrating these internationally recognized artists. It snaps along with great wit and is, in the end, an inspiration for everybody.”

4. “The Castle Builder” (2022)

Directed by Tristan Owen

Jim Bishop has dedicated his entire life to building the world’s largest one man project. Unlike his castle, however, his body will not survive forever.

5. “Kea’s Ark” (2019)

Directed by Susan Wallner

“Kea’s Ark tells the story of how a 3-story ark came to be built in Newark’s devastated Central Ward in the mid-1980s. Kea Tawana, a self-taught artist and builder, designed and built the massive boat by herself, using materials salvaged from 19th century buildings being torn down in an urban wasteland. She worked on it for years before Newark’s newly-elected mayor Sharpe James took note and demanded it gone. It no longer exists, but Kea’s Ark remains a powerful symbol of hope in Newark and beyond.”

6. “The Angel That Stands By Me” (1983)

Part of the “Visions of Paradise” series on contemporary folk artists directed and produced by Allie Light and Irving Saraf 

“Minnie Evans is the embodiment of the visionary artist. She is an African American painter of Wilmington, N.C., who has created a world of mythical animals, religious symbols and natural beauty. The film explores the sources of Minnie Evans’ art–Airlie Garden, with its magnificent azaleas and swans, where Minnie worked as a gate keeper for 27 years and where she did most of her paintings. Angel That Stands By Me is part of the ‘Visions of Paradise’ series on contemporary folk artists directed and produced by Irving Saraf and Allie Light.”

“The Paradox of Norval Morrisseau” (1974)

Directed by Duke Redbird & Henning Jacobsen

“In this revealing study of Norval Morrisseau, filmed as he works among the lakes and woodlands of his ancestors, we see a remarkable Indigenous artist who emerged from a life of obscurity in the North American bush to become one of Canada’s most renowned painters. Morrisseau the man is much like his paintings: vital and passionate, torn between his Ojibway heritage and the influences of the white man’s world.”

Thanks

Any good suggestions for art documentaries? Drop a line in the comments below or reach out to me on Instagram at @folkartwork. For a fuller list of Art Documentaries check out my Letterboxd list here.