Church Picnic; Helen LaFrance
Think twice and see it once. Think you’re right and know you’re right before you do something. I like to have people see what I see, the way I see it. I try to see through a thing.
We begin this week with news of the extraordinary “memory paintings” of Helen LaFrance, a self-taught Kentucky artist who has spent a life painting, and, at the age of 93, is still producing vibrant work from a dayroom-studio in her nursing home.
Here’s Kathy Moses Shelton, author of Helen LaFrance: Folk Art Memories and Outsider Art of the South writing in Nashville Arts Magazine on the work of Mrs. LaFrance:
In 1995, I had the pleasure of being introduced to self-taught Southern artist Helen LaFrance.
An accomplished painter, quilter, wood carver, and Biblical
interpreter, Helen LaFrance also has an exceptional ability to connect
with the viewer emotionally through the memories they share. She paints
scenes of a time and place that many recall but others respond to as
well. On canvas, she transcribes the values and traditions she grew up
with, the concept of family and church, the strong work ethic that was
her model. These paintings fall into a category of American folk art
known as memory painting. And memories, as we all know, give meaning to
our own lives and to the lives of others when we share them.
An accomplished painter, quilter, wood carver, and Biblical
interpreter, Helen LaFrance also has an exceptional ability to connect
with the viewer emotionally through the memories they share. She paints
scenes of a time and place that many recall but others respond to as
well. On canvas, she transcribes the values and traditions she grew up
with, the concept of family and church, the strong work ethic that was
her model. These paintings fall into a category of American folk art
known as memory painting. And memories, as we all know, give meaning to
our own lives and to the lives of others when we share them.
We are also including below this fine video by the Oxford American that first introduced us to the work of Helen LaFrance; below, please also find a video produced in conjunction with her Kentucky Governor’s Award in the Arts.