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naive art

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Categorynaive art
SourceArt & Architecture Thesaurus

Overview

Refers to art created by non-professional artists or artisans who have not had formal training and are often self-taught. It typically displays the artist's poor grasp of anatomy and lacks mastery of conventional perspective and other hallmarks of trained artists. It includes painting, sculpture, embroidery, quilts, toys, ships' figureheads, decoys, painted targets, and other objects, and often refers to such objects created specifically in 19th- and 20th-century Europe and North America. It is generally distinguished from "outsider art," which includes the more extravagant psychotic drawings and other art created or collected according to a philosophy of the avoidance of, rather than simply a lack of, traditional training. It is also usually distinct from "folk art," which is created according to specific cultural traditions.

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