Happy Face Outsider in Plaster

Jazzy vintage folk art sculpture done in plaster. Happy Face by anonymous ~ we're thinking it's a one-of-a-kind. A cheery piece to  keep you company. The thick disk has applied bits and pieces representing bangs, outstanding eyes with vivacious eyelashes, a perky grin showing red lips framing tiny white teeth and above that, a handlebar mustache in black paint. The nose is indented and has red paint. The eyes are two circular disks protruding approximately 4mm tall from the face's surface. Black pupils painted in. Measures 5 3/4" diameter and is about an inch thick. Painted in earthen toned washes, nicely mottled. This piece has an appealing textural quality and good dimension. Unsigned.

In good, solid condition. It is substantial, weighing in at just under a pound. Small, scattered chips to the rim areas, visible in our photos. On the back, raw plaster or chalk has edges with random left-over brush strokes. A piece of gauze runs across and looks as if it were there since the making of the piece. All in all, a fantastical bit of vintage outsider art done in a matter-of-fact design. This is the face of a bright being who looks like he has a bright outlook on life in general. Questions? Email anytime.

Note of Interest:  This piece is relevant to today's welcomed movement in the field of art called "Nameless Art & Design". The ultimate purpose of the group is to direct art appreciation back to where it started, focused on the content of the composition, and to suggest that the quality of a work of art is dependent on the art itself and not on the signature of the artist. The following is from the mission statement of this group of artists and art appreciators: "Nameless challenges an arts establishment that devalues extraordinary art for lack of a signature. ... Driven by homegrown creativity and liberated from the constraints of conventional design, “nameless” self-taught artists of decades and centuries past often worked in obscurity, with many lacking access to formal training and recognition due to their race, gender, disability, or class. Today, their legacies more often than not take the form of singular, unsigned works of art, the best of which thwart categorization and disrupt mainstream narratives." (from the website of Nameless Art & Design Show 2024) I always will remember the words of Jackie Radwin. "Art is art, no matter what the century." And this could be said as well ... Art is art, not matter if it  has a signature.