Spirituality in Folk Art: Minnie Evans

While reading Robertson and McDaniel’s view of the role of spirituality in art, my mind constantly wondered back to the role of spirituality and religion in folk art. Folk art began as a way to look at the native land’s culture and have a better understanding of it. Folk art stems from close knit communities, with a type of kinship that mirrors a family-like bond within that society. Religion and spirituality play a major role in these communities, as it would in a family dynamic, regardless of what the beliefs are. For these artists, their themes tend to center around their particular community and its beliefs and practices. It is these style of art (spiritual and religious) that “has addressed humanity’s most profound needs and life’s greatest mysteries; beliefs about death and an afterlife, the nature of the universe and humanity’s place in it, and the moral codes that guide private and public behavior” (McDaniel 278).

It is artists such as Minnie Evans who use their work to express their spiritual side. Her work, she says, is a result of visions that come to her. She says that “something told me to draw or die. It was shown to me what to do" (Antonart). She uses faces in many of her works, surrounded by abstract designs. The eyes are a representation of God’s divinity and his omniscience. Her work embodies her religious beliefs and shows the viewer a more abstract way of viewing typical religious art; meaning that there is not a definite aspect of her work that shows that this is a spiritual piece without knowing that it is. Being that she is a folk artist, her work shows the impact that her community and its beliefs, has had on her. It is this spiritual aspect that refers to the “common yearning to belong to something greater than the self, the desire to probe the source of life and the nature of death, and the acknowledgment of ineffable, intangible forces at work in the universe” (McDaniel 278). It is this yearning in her beliefs that drives Minnie Evans to show her devotion through her works. Spirituality and religion will continue to play a major role within art as long as there are people. People’s faith, regardless of what it is, will always be a strong force that guides them, and through art, they are allowed to showcase that faith.

"Minnie Evans - Biography." Anton Haardt Folk Art Gallery. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. http://www.antonart.com/bio-evan.htm.

"Minnie Evans." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Evans.

Robertson, Jean, and Craig McDaniel, eds. Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.