What makes one painting "art" and another one not? Maybe the answer lies more in the social destination of the work than in its form.

1. Art Worlds & the
Politics of “Art”
Understanding Visual Culture
Week 1, Class 2

2. John Singleton COPLEY
Mrs. Ezekiel Goldthwaite
1771
oil on canvas
50 1/8 x 40 1/8 inches
http://www.mfa.org/collections/
object/mrs-ezekiel-goldthwait-elizabeth-
lewis-32756

3. Ammi PHILLIPS
Lady in a gold-colored dress
Probably New York,
Connecticut, or
Massachusetts, 1835–1840
Oil on canvas
33 1/2 x 28 1/4 in.

5. Ammi PHILLIPS (1788–
1865)
Girl in red dress with cat
and dog
Vicinity of Amenia, New
York 1830–1835
Oil on canvas
30 x 25 inches
http://folkartmuseum.org/?t=images&id=1582

6. John Singleton COPLEY
(American 1738-1815)
Head of a Negro, 1777-8
Oil on canvas
21 x 16 1/4 in.

7. James Hampton
1909-1964
born in rural South Carolina
moved to Washington, DC
to live with his brother;
worked as short –order cook
and janitor
served in WWII in a
segregated unit, 385th
Aviation Unit, maintaining air
strips on Saipan and Guam
returned to Washington, DC
worked as a janitor for the
GSA
“Director, Special Projects
for the State of Eternity”

8. James HAMPTON
The Throne of the Third Heaven
of the Nations' Millennium
General Assembly
circa 1950-1964
gold and silver aluminum foil, Kraft paper over mixed materials
180 pieces in overall configuration: 10 1/2 x 27 x 14 1/2 ft.
Includes plaques, tags and notebooks in a not-yet deciphered
language.

10. "Where there is no vision,
the people perish.”
Proverbs 29:18
posted on the wall of Hampton's garage

11. possibly made the first
piece as early as 1945 in
Guam
in 1950, rented a garage
and built a special staging
area inside
collected castoffs/junk from
his job and all over the city
to make this environment

24. Howard FINSTER
(1915-2001)
born Alabama, one of 13
children
“born again” at age 13
and followed call to
become a Baptist
minister

25. Howard Finster ·
Howard Finster, Man of
Visions. 1988, Wood
Sculpture with paint,
13.00 x 8.38 x 3.5
inches.

27. Howard FINSTER
George Washington in Another World
1987
oil on panel
58 ½ x 47 inches

28. Howard Finster, Florence Nightingale

29. Paradise Garden, Pennville, GA
bought 4 acres of
inexpensive land, which he
began to clear and drain
after purchasing.
Began planting, as well as
building walkways and
structures, mostly made of
concrete with embedded
objects. Many sculptures
and structures, including a
chapel he called the
“World's Folk Art Church.”

34. installation view, Howard Finster, Paradise Garden at the High Museum