The body of work on display at the American Visionary Art Museum can best be categorized in one word: weird. But I mean that in the nicest possible way. In fact, the AVAM, at the base of Federal Hill near the Inner Harbor, relishes eccentricity. Every year it puts on the Kinetic Sculpture Race, a wacky parade of artful-yet-crazy contraptions over land, through water, mud and sand.
Background:
The brainchild of Rebecca Hoffberger, the museum opened in November 1995 and in the past decade or so has become a national shrine of sorts for self-taught artists and their innovative work.
Much of the exterior of the three-story museum is covered with clear glass and mosaic tiles that sparkle like diamonds in the sunlight. A massive golden hand juts out of the building as a greeting to visitor, and a nearly six-foot mosaic egg stands upright and glistening in a small sculpture garden between the AVAM’s various buildings.
First Floor:
A small exhibition space houses some very large pieces. Like the 16-foot model of the Lusitania made entirely of toothpicks. And the seven-panel, untitled masterpiece by Maryland artist James Franklin Snodgrass which, from a distance, looks like an abstract reclining figure, but up close is comprised of thousands of small painted human bodies.
Also on the first floor is Sideshow, a gift shop offering an extremely eclectic collection of original art, great books, jewelry, vintage toys and novelties. (Absolutely need pencil erasers in the form of Jesus Christ? You’re in luck!) Admission to the gift shop is free.
Second Floor:
A wide, spiral staircase leads up to the AVAM’s space for visiting exhibits. Currently on display until Sept. 7, 2007, is Home & Beast. On the Beast side are paintings by a celebrated painter of the 1950s who was, by her very nature, self-taught: Betsy the Chimp. The Baltimore Zoo resident created luminous finger paintings that would be the envy of any child…or adult. John Waters named the chimp/artist as one of his inspirations. On the Home-front, Baltimore native Loring Cornish melds domestic surroundings and artistic flights of fancy, creating walls and furniture covered with coins, spoons and metal scraps.
Third Floor:
The AVAM’s top level contains a permanent exhibit that celebrates “the many remarkable creative contributions that a dash of Obsessive Compulsive Delight can help bestow." The bulk of the collection showcases the overwhelmingly meticulous drawings of Ted Gorden.
Also on the third floor is the Joy America Café. The restaurant is currently closed, but is still available for catering, receptions and meetings.
Sculpture Barn:
Formerly the Four Roses whiskey warehouse, the museum Sculpture Barn has soaring 45-foot ceilings and can house large art pieces and installations. Currently, an exhibit on window screen painting in Baltimore shares space with a hot-air balloon, a cobalt-glass encrusted art car, a robot family and a giant ball made up of bras.
Visitor Information:
American Visionary Art Museum
800 Key Highway
Baltimore, Md. 21230
410-244-1900
Admission
Adult—$12
Student/Child—$8
Senior (55 and up)—$8
Group of 10 or more—$7
School Group K-12—$5
Children 6 and under—Free
Hours
Tuesday-Sunday: 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. (Closed Mondays, except Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, on which teachers get free admission.)
Closed: Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day.
