Avam

The American Visionary Art museum is a very original and beautifully decorated structure. It was raining the day I went to visit, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The structure itself is architectural marvel. It has a very unusual shape and structure which makes it very aesthetically pleasing. The outside is covered with glass, mirror pieces and other materials. There is a giant whirligig located outside of this main building that is known as Baltimore's most beloved outdoor sculptural landmark. The sculpture is a wind powered structure created by a 76 year old mechanic/farmer named Vollis Simpson. Mr. Simpson created this structure as a saluted to Federal Hill and Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness.

The AVAM is a much different structure from that of the BMA. The BMA is a much more plain building that that of the AVAM. The AVAM is structured around a large spiral staircase that takes you from floor to floor. The main building is 35,000 square feet and contains six galleries. The BMA is a much larger structure containing a more galleries than the AVAM. The contemporary wing of the BMA had many large scale paintings spread out in the wing. The AVAM seemed to put the paintings, sculptures and such closer together. This could be because the AVAM is a smaller building than that BMA.

The first piece I noticed when I walked into the heart of the AVAM was The World's First Robot Family by Devon Smith (1926-2003). The robot family was a set of sculptures consisting of 6 people and a dog. The family was made with recycled appliances, lights, rubber gloves, and hoses. The family members moved their body parts in a robotic manner and had blinking lights on them.

Another set of pieces that caught my attention were that of John "Eddie" Welch. There were 37 mixed media murals on masonite hung around the room. They showed support for figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Jesse Owens, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and Jackie Robinson. The phrase "we need you" was repeated in many of the murals such as George Washington Carver and Stevie Wonder. These members were obviously supportive of African American culture and the equality of men. These murals were very bold and political in nature.

Jack Bruno was a visionary artist that interested me very much. His paintings were bold, striking, unusual and strangely beautiful. They caught my eye because of their bold color and attention to detail. A few of such paintings were War in Heaven (1970), DeceptionÐ'...From Another Dimension (2003), Earth's Last Day (1998) and The ZodiacÐ'...By God! (1993-96). According to the plate next to his paintings, Bruno believed himself to be "a modern day watchman, put on earth to alert people to the approaching evil and destruction so that their blood would not be on his hands." These images were haunting and almost scary, yet beautiful at the same time.

Another piece that I found interesting was the Grim Reaper (1996) by John Root Hopkins. In this painting, Hopkins depicted the grim reaper as an old man holding the reaper axe. This painting is reminiscent of Rauchenburg because of his use of multi-media. It is mostly a painting, but the shoes and forearms of the man come out of the painting. The axe is a full sized reaper axe being held by the hands that protrude from the painting.

I also enjoyed the work of a local artist by the name of Paul Darmafall. Darmafall is known to many as the Baltimore Glass Man. Three of his projects that I most noticed were Untitled (1997), George Washington (1986) and Unknown but to God (1987). Untitled was in an angel shape. The background was painted and then covered with pieces of colored glass. The glass seemed to be broken up in a haphazard way and then put on the wood with direct purpose to form a beautiful picture. Unknown but to God was made to honor the Marine Honor Guard and more specifically the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The third painting