Spring Neck Bird in Metal is a photograph by Sarah Loft which was uploaded on March 18th, 2017.
Spring Neck Bird in Metal
There's a lovely little gift shop in the older section of Mainz which sits behind a little courtyard/ garden and which sells, among other things,... more
by Sarah Loft
Title
Spring Neck Bird in Metal
Artist
Sarah Loft
Medium
Photograph - Photograph With Added Texture
Description
There's a lovely little gift shop in the older section of Mainz which sits behind a little courtyard/ garden and which sells, among other things, metal folk art animal statues like this one. The garden is full of them, some quite large, and a tall bird usually stands just outside the gate on the cobblestone street. The shop, Potpourri, has a website, but the owner told me the metal menagerie is only for sale on site. In any case, you may want to visit www.potpourri-mainz.de.
Per Wikipedia: Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic. Folk Art is characterized by a naive style, in which traditional rules of proportion and perspective are not employed.
As a phenomenon that can chronicle a move towards civilization yet rapidly diminish with modernity, industrialization, or outside influence, the nature of folk art is specific to its particular culture. The varied geographical and temporal prevalence and diversity of folk art make it difficult to describe as a whole, though some patterns have been demonstrated.
Characteristically folk art is not influenced by movements in academic or fine art circles, and, in many cases, folk art excludes works executed by professional artists and sold as "high art" or "fine art" to the society's art patrons. On the other hand, many 18th- and 19th-century American folk art painters made their living by their work, including itinerant portrait painters, some of whom produced large bodies of work.
Terms that might overlap with folk art are naive art, tribal art, primitive art, popular art, outsider art, traditional art, tramp art and working-class art/blue-collar art. As one might expect, these terms can have multiple and even controversial connotations but are often used interchangeably with the term "folk art".
Folk art expresses cultural identity by conveying shared community values and aesthetics. It encompasses a range of utilitarian and decorative media, including cloth, wood, paper, clay, metal and more. If traditional materials are inaccessible, new materials are often substituted, resulting in contemporary expressions of traditional folk art forms. Folk art reflects traditional art forms of diverse community groups-- ethnic, tribal, religious, occupational, geographical, age- or gender-based-- who identify with each other and society at large. Folk artists traditionally learn skills and techniques through apprenticeships in informal community settings, though they may also be formally educated.
Per Wikipedia: Mainz is the capital of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the capital of the Electorate of Mainz at the time of the Holy Roman Empire. In antiquity Mainz was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire; it was founded as a military post by the Romans in the late 1st century BC and became the provincial capital of Germania Superior. The city is located on the river Rhine at its confluence with the Main opposite Wiesbaden, in the western part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main; in the modern age, Frankfurt shares much of its regional importance.
The city is famous as the home of the invention of the movable-type printing press, as the first books printed using movable type were manufactured in Mainz by Gutenberg in the early 1450s. Until the twentieth century, Mainz was usually referred to in English as Mayence.
Note: The watermark will not appear on the products you purchase.
Featured in the Greeting Cards for All Occasions group, March 2017.
Featured in the Pleasing the Eye group, March 2017.
Featured in the 1000 Views group, March 2017.
Featured in the Strictly Neon group, March 2020.
Uploaded
March 18th, 2017
Statistics
Viewed 5,774 Times - Last Visitor from Winnipeg, MB - Canada on 03/07/2024 at 12:58 PM
Colors
Embed
Share
More from Sarah Loft
Comments (32)
Christopher James
One of your peers nominated this image in the 1000 views Groups nominated images by your fellow artist in the Special Features #6 promotion discussion. Please visit and pass on the love to another artist.
Christopher James
Congratulation.....your wonderful work has been featured in the 1000 Views on 1 Image Group l/f/p
Nikolyn McDonald
What a very funny looking creature - love the quizzical expression. Wonder what he just saw! Presentation is great, too - I like the way you picked up the reds and the way they pop against the neutral background.
Cheryl Rose
Personality plus in this fun, charming bird! What a great find! Enjoyed your interesting description, too, Sarah! l/f