What does it look like when a social media feed jumps onto the walls of an art gallery? Visitors to the Fitch Building in Des Moines from Nov. 8-30 will find out during “Faces in the Crowd,” showcasing the work of 14 artists you’ve probably never heard of (but probably should).
The exhibition was curated by Adam Oestreich, an art teacher, art collector, father and artist on hiatus hailing from the Quad Cities. For more than five years, he’s run an art-centric Instagram account, @folkartwork, that has accumulated more than 110,000 followers and expanded into a newsletter, blog, YouTube, TikTok, online shop and art collective.
“I never really saw myself as a curator, just as someone who wanted to share their love of a particular art,” said Oestreich, who has a particular passion for the work of William Hawkins, an artist he first encountered at the Dubuque Museum of Art in 2018.
“The one philosophy I have always had is whether I like this artwork, and if the answer is yes, then I think it is worth sharing.”
“Faces in the Crowd” will be the first live, in-person version of Oestreich’s project. The show will feature 14 “nonconformer artists” — a term coined by Lisa Slominski in her 2022 book Nonconformers: A New History of Self-Taught Artists, and one that Oestreich prefers to the more common “outsider.”
“The term ‘outsider art’ is what is used by the art establishment, because it is easier than saying, ‘this artist is self-taught,’ or ‘this artist is a visionary artist,’ or ‘this artist is an artist with intellectual or developmental disabilities,’ or ‘this artist hails from this specific culture creating a particular type of folk art,’” Oestreich said.
Today, outsider art, or being an outsider artist, isn’t necessarily stigmatizing. Many galleries specialize in it, and outsider art fairs can help artists to find audiences and buyers for their work, even if the term still carries baggage.
There are no set definitions and certainly no stylistic standards applying to all nonconformer art — something Oestreich embraces. On FolkArtwork.art, he provides artist bios, shares images and sells works from a diverse range of self-taught artists, including John Ash, who reflects his experiences with addiction; Kathy Edwards Hayslett, a museum curator; Lindsay Carraway, who confronts trauma; Reneesha McCoy, capturing motherhood; Christopher Bame, non-verbal communication; Jackie Bradshaw, neurodivergence; and Lorena Eliason, the mundanity of day jobs.
This is not an exhaustive list, and you will not find a “type” of nonconformer artist represented in “Faces in the Crowd.”
“The relationship starts with a connection to the artist and the artist’s background. … I care way more about [the] story of the artist, or the piece, or how it came to be in my possession than on the ‘beauty’ or ‘aesthetic’ of the work.”
In the early days of the FolkArtwork Instagram page, Oestreich shared images of pieces he liked with little information, describing it as “a nice escape for people who just wanted to see and look.” Curation, though, also means to care. The blog, newsletter and new FolkArtwork Collective allow Oestreich to showcase his research on individual artists, artistic environments and museum and gallery collections, creating a connected hub of resources for nonconformer artists and their fans.
“It’s nice to have numerous outlets for people with different interests or attention spans to seek out as much or as little information as they’d like,” he said.
The most traditional mode of curation, art displayed in a gallery, is arguably the most effective way to create connections. The relationship one can develop with an artwork is more focused and intimate in person. The FolkArtwork website contains a wealth of information, but the physical experience of “Faces in the Crowd” provides a more direct window into Oestreich’s curating logic.
“I want attendees who come to my exhibit to learn about these artists and why they create the works they create,” he said. “Every day, we are visually stimulated by our phones, television, driving to and from work and whatever else is happening, that makes it hard to slow down and look beyond a piece of art.”
“I tell my art students to … find a piece of artwork, look at it for five minutes straight and try to connect with it. … It will help them build a better appreciation for the art, the artists and how it all came to be.”
To look beyond, to truly see an artwork, begins with a direct engagement with the object. From there, a visual relationship builds into an emotional relationship and empathy is the most satisfying and intimate art experience to have as a viewer, Oestreich explained.
“I hope at the end of the day, whether people want to collect … or not, they’ll at least leave the show feeling a new appreciation toward humanity, how challenging life is for some people, and maybe stop saying, ‘It looks like my 6-year-old could make that.’”
This article was originally published in Little Village’s November 2024 issue.
