FOLK ART NOTEBOOK
by N.F. Karlins



Let’s face it. Soot-and-spit drawings aren’t common, even in today’s anything-goes art scene. Nor are layered constructions made with tarpaper and twine. Yet both types of work are common in the oeuvre of James Castle (1899-1977), the famously deaf artist from Boise, Idaho, and both are avidly collected. Striking works in both media can be seen in "James Castle: A Retrospective," now at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 14, 2008-Jan. 4, 2009.

...more