Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular From The Permanent Collection

at California African American Museum, Los Angeles (through 15 March)
Reviewed by Seren Sensei

Folk art and folk artists tend to be an underserved discipline in the contemporary American art world. We gravitate towards fine artists with prestigious arts degrees over the more commonplace culture of folk art, and when we do discuss the importance of art born out of folk tradition, as in most artistic disciplines, we tend to highlight white artists. From the music of Bob Dylan to the exultation of Grandma Moses, when we talk about folk art as something born out of Americana or something inherently American, we very rarely talk about Black artists. Yet folk art is historically important as an archive of culture encapsulated within creative expression, and creation by Black American artists is nestled at the center of Americana.

At the California African American Museum, an entire exhibit has been dedicated to artwork culled from the permanent collection and representative of Black American folk art: Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular from the Permanent Collection serves as both time capsule and time machine, showcasing work across a broad spectrum of Black American folk artists rooted in the South. Largely self-taught and relying on a hodgepodge of materials that often include everyday items such as glass bottles, brooms, the artists on display at CAAM reflect “themes associated with spirituality, social justice, folklore, and daily life among common…