Eccentric Folk Art Drawings by Jim Linderman

I think a lot of people were looking for that, and that’s when they discovered Howard. I think it’s a lot like going back and listening to what you’d call roots music today. I don’t want to say his work was primitive because that carries derogatory connotations, and he wasn’t an ignorant man, but his work appeared more authentic than the stuff in the galleries. That’s certainly what attracted me to him. Because of his work’s availability, he was a gateway artist for people who were searching for something more real than what they were getting out of consumer culture. When he passed away, I think his objects numbered in the 50,000s. I believe he made as many works as Picasso. Linderman: I think a lot of people got into folk art through him, simply because he was so prolific. Collectors Weekly: How did Howard Finster come to be the grandfather of American 20th-century folk art? Not that money was a problem he only charged $10 and $25 for a painting at the time. It wasn’t long before I realized I could have Howard send me three or four things, and I could sell a couple and keep the one I liked the best. One day I called Howard and asked him if he had any art for sale. I’ve always been comfortable calling people and asking them questions, which must be my journalism background.

The artist Reverend Howard Finster had just done a cover for a Talking Heads album, and I was intrigued by it. Painters were like rock stars, and that was exciting, but in folk art I found an authenticity that didn’t exist in the contemporary art world. The most entertaining thing to do in New York at the time was to go gallery hopping. It was 1981, and the art scene was exploding. So I just stopped doing both for a while. I had been at CBS News in New York City for about 8 or 10 years, and I was kind of burned out from working too hard and drinking too much. My interest in 20th-century American self-taught art came about after I had gone through a million other things-from stamps to bootleg records to books about who killed JFK. Linderman can be reached via Dull Tool Dim Bulb.

In this wide-ranging interview, Linderman talks about his favorite folk-art pieces he’s collected over the years, explains why he just can’t stand the phrase “outsider art,” and reveals what drew him to vintage photographs of circus freaks and glamour girls.

For collector, blogger, and author Jim Linderman, beauty is all about the imperfections, which is why he’s so attracted to folk art.

Eccentric Folk Art Drawings by Jim Linderman