American Folk Art Museum Free Admission Sunday

Free Admission Sunday at American Folk Art Museum - see INFO below. The invention of the automobile and the increase in leisure time meant that curiosity seekers could hit the open road, where they were gifted with amusement parks, quirky museums, offbeat landmarks, and fantastical, vernacular environments, says Jason T. Busch, director of the American Folk Art Museum. With Roadside Attraction, we show some of the strange and mysterious objects that artists and entrepreneurs created to confound and entertain passersby. People have long been drawn to strange and mysterious objects, says Sarah Margolis-Pineo, curator of the exhibition. In the sixteenth century, there were cabinets of curiosities, or Wunderkammer, in which religious relics, natural marvels, and meticulously crafted works of art were exhibited. These cabinets of curiosities were the precursors to todays museums. They drew from science and superstition to inspire wonder and delight. Highlighting works created within artist-built environments by Calvin and Ruby Black (Calvin 19031972, Ruby 19151980, Yermo, CA), Howard Finster (19162001, Summerville, GA), Matteo Radoslovich (c. 19471972, West New York, NJ), Mary T. Smith (19041995, Hazelhurst, MI), and Clarence and Grace Woolsey (Clarence, 19291987, Grace, ?1992, Lincoln, IA), among others, the exhibition examines the relationship between curiosity and entertainment, illuminating the ways that they interweave to make space for extraordinary ideas and other worlds. These objects bring a touch of magic to the mundane, breaking the monotony of the open road. Similarly, Roadside Attraction is a place of respite and a space for speculation, conjuring questions about the ways in which we understand our world. Roadside Attraction highlights the potential for changethe human capacity to see curiosity and wonder within the everyday. More Info below.