Museum of Bad Art

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The Museum of Bad Art (MOBA) is a private museum in Somerville , Massachusetts, and one in Brookline , Massachusetts. It presents “the works of artists who are otherwise not shown and valued.” The permanent collection includes 500 works that “are too bad to be ignored”. 25 to 35 works are exhibited each time.

history

The MOBA was founded in autumn 1993. After antique dealer Scott Wilson showed his friends a picture ( Lucy in the Field with Flowers ) he found in the trash , he looked for more bad art with them. When Wilson acquired another piece, he and Reilly decided to start a collection. Reilly and his wife, Marie Jackson, invited to a celebration in their basement, at which they presented some works. Even today they still call this celebration "The opening of the Museum of Bad Art". Due to the increasing popularity of the audience, a separate exhibition room in the basement of a theater in Dedham was moved to for the presentation of the pictures.

A second gallery opened in 2008 at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. Although the original gallery is free and open to the public, the second gallery is only free for visitors to the theater. Works from the MOBA have also been exhibited in museums in Virginia , Ottawa, Canada, and New York .

Requirements for the works

The works that are included in the MOBA collection must have a serious intent and at the same time a striking blemish without appearing boring. There is no interest in consciously presenting kitsch.

Under the motto art that is too bad to ignore , the MOBA only includes a fraction of the works on offer in its collection. A lack of artistic ability does not automatically ensure that the work will be accepted. The art must have an oh my god quality. An important criterion for the inclusion is that the painting or sculpture is not boring. The museum is not interested in commercial work. No paintings by children will be included in the collection.

reception

The MOBA was accused of being against art and of mocking works that have a serious background. However, founder Scott Wilson insists that adding a work to his collection is a tribute to artistic enthusiasm.

thefts

The theft of two works drew media attention to the MOBA. In 1996 the painting Eileen by R. Angelo Le, which Wilson had acquired from a waste paper basket with a tear in the canvas, disappeared . The museum offered a reward of $ 6.50, which was later increased to $ 36.73 by donors. In 2006 the painting was returned.

Due to the theft, the MOBA has a fake video camera with the note “Warning. This gallery is protected by a fake security camera "attached.

Examples from the collection

Each MOBA painting and sculpture is characterized by a brief description of the medium, the size and the name of the artist, as well as the history of the acquisition and an analysis of the possible artistic intention.

Web links

Commons : Museum of Bad Art  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Piepenburg, Erik (September 22, 2010). "Loving the Lowbrow (It Has Its Own Hall of Fame)". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Frank & Sacco 2008, p. Vii.
  3. ^ Walkup, Nancy (March 2005). "ArtEd Online - NAEA in Boston - Reproducible Handout". School Arts 104 (7): 36. ISSN  0036-6463 . OCLC 1765119.
  4. ↑ Gaines, Judith. Exhibiting Works of Trial and Error: Museum Finds Landscapes Gone Awry . The Boston Globe, May 4, 2003
  5. ↑ English, Bella. "High Standards for Low Art". The Boston Globe, April 29, 2007. Reg7
  6. ^ Citro & Foulds 2004, p. 114
  7. ↑ Smykus, Ed. "Museum of Bad Art Will Open Second Branch at the Somerville Theater". Wicked Local, May 5, 2008
  8. ↑ "General Info". Somerville Theater. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  9. ↑ Swoger, Kate. "Bad Art Finds a Good Home at This Anti-Museum". Ottawa Citizen, February 26, 2000. K6
  10. ↑ English, Bella. "Doing a Good Deed with Bad Art". The Boston Globe, February 8, 2009. Reg1
  11. ^ Goldberg, Carey. Arts In America: Art So Bad a Museum in Boston Relishes It . The New York Times, October 14, 1998.
  12. ↑ Wulff, Julie "All Things Bad and Beautiful". The Boston Globe, December 13, 2006. SID2
  13. ↑ Cobb, Nathan. "In Dedham, This Museum is Exhibiting 'Bad' Taste". The Boston Globe, February 28, 2004. C1
  14. ↑ Belanger, Moran & Sceurman 2008, p. 59