NJ Women in the Arts

A New Look at the Humble Snapshot

By Beth A . Venn

Folk art has traditionally been defined as the paintings, sculptures or drawings made by individuals without academic training. The label covers a wide range of objects that can include traditional crafts, utilitarian objects, and even costumes and textiles. Most art museums outside of those specifically devoted to the work of folk and outsider artists, have often overlooked this work.

Lately though, more and more museums are turning their attention to the study of objects of everyday life as a way of better understanding our culture. Nowhere is this more evident than in the study of vernacular photography, that is, the everyday snapshot.

A large number of snapshot collectors throughout the country are also collectors of folk and outsider art. As museums begin taking an interest in the humble snapshot, collections are being organized into exhibitions. In the upcoming months, a number of important exhibitions of snapshots are taking place in East Coast museums. The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts is exhibiting snapshots from the collection of John Foster; it is on view until the end of the year. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is hosting a snapshot show from the collection of the Robert E. Jackson which will be on view from October through December. And for February 2008, The Newark Museum is organizing a vernacular photography exhibition from the collection of Frank Maresca, a leading expert in folk and outsider art.

Make it a point to visit one of these shows and see the ways snapshots are now being recognized not just as throw-away images, but as powerful cultural artifacts.

Beth A. Venn is the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art and Senior Curator of the Department of American Art at The Newark Museum.