"F for FAKE" is a film hosted by Orson Wells (Ovation Cable programing January 2009) on the career of the infamous  El Mir, the peerless counterfeiter of great artists’ paintings.  In the film, El Mir questioned the "expertise of the experts" since time after time no "expert" could tell the authentic from the  El Mir.

FACT:  One of the early forgers of artistic works was, Michelangelo himself.  Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni^[1] (March 6, 1475 – February 18, 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer. (Wikipedia) 

FOLK ART.  For the vast majority of time that humans have been on Earth, they have left evidence of their amazing creativity.  The rich arts and crafts of early humans continue to tell us much about their evolving lives. Prehistoric cave paintings and stone monuments, bone carved implements and children’s toys are some of this creativity still in evidence today.  Early tools invented by man over 2,000 years ago include fish and duck hunting decoys.  The usage of these sometimes artistic hunting devices has been handed down through the generations.

More recently institutions were established which began teaching the fundamentals of ART. Always questioning "what is art?"  As a result, academics also began distinguishing between Fine Art with a capital "A"  and the  more recently defined Folk Art.  In simplistic terms, Folk Art refers to the creative efforts of people lacking formal art education.  And more recently further distinctions or classifications have been argued that suggest sub-dividing Folk Art into numerous segregated categories such as "grass roots," "outsider," "art brut," and "intuitive" art.  At any rate, the Folk Arts in its many forms and considerations generates loads of casual conversations as well as serious dialog.

Creekside Art Gallery has specialized for decades in both Fine Art work, as Gene is a practicing artist and retired art professor, and Folk Art in our collecting, research, and writing.  Gene Kangas’ public sculptures, functional woodturning and wood sculpture, and his various Digital Print Series are highlighted at CreeksideArtGallery.com.   Our love of the FOLK ARTS run through the entire site CreeksideArtGallery.com. 

We started collecting wood molds over fifteen years ago when we first saw them at the Bouckville Antiques Fair in mid New York State, and later at Brimfield and in New York City.  We have never stopped.  There are images that appeal to most every person, some fit right into existing types of collections, many are holiday oriented, and some very special ones are knock-out sculptures that transcend the everyday appeal of the  takaan. AND, they are very affordable.

KANGAS ARTICLES & BOOKS.  Gene and Linda Kangas have written over 160 Articles and a dozen Books and Exhibition Catalogs during the past 35 years.    We are archiving complete articles including photographs and excerpted book and catalog texts with photographs to Creekside Art Gallery Blog.   Each can be downloaded and printed out for your convenience.  Please come back to look for more on a monthly basis!

Subjects include Waterfowl Decoys, American Historic and Contemporary Folk Art, International Folk Art, Biographies of Artists and Collectors, and Contemporary and Antique Woodturning including 19th and 20th century Peaseware.

Books & Catalogs Available for Purchase:  We are happy to personalize autographed books and catalogs; most are also available discounted in multiples.

Want your book, article or catalog written?  Contact us at  Creekside Art Gallery.

Thousands of individuals and over one hundred factories produced millions of waterfowl decoys after the idea began over two millenium ago. Of that multitude of makers, how many went far beyond the typical decoy in creative efforts to make miniature ducks and other decoy related artifacts? The answer is a very small percentage. Of those, how many fashioned not only quality lures but also a wider variety of folk sculptures distinguishing them from the norm? Only a handful did and they have become recognized for their special contributions. These legends include Elmer Crowell, Ira Hudson, Charles Perdew, The Ward Brothers, Shang Wheeler and Gus Wilson, all prolific masters. More »

New World Folk Art evolved from art faculty discussions concerning plans to commemorate the Columbus Quincentenary at Cleveland State University. Unlike the last observance, which brought forth the influential Columbian World Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the current anniversary has stoked bitter controversy. Native Americans feel that there is little to celebrate. Many Americans look upon some aspects of this country’s history less positively than their ancestors and regard the future with increasing uneasiness. In light of these circumstances, the art faculty sought an idea that would recognize these feelings and still pay homage to the native-born and immigrant people of the New World. Various concepts were suggested until the importance of interactions between cultures and their effects on folk imagery were decided upon as the focus of this exhibition.

Centuries before Christopher Columbus voyaged to these shores, ancient cultures prospered all across the North American continent. Much was learned by native people as they adapted to their environment and innovated methods to improve their lives. One of the eventual results of contact with new foreign settlers was a cross-cultural sharing of ideas and technologies. The exchange of knowledge benefited both, and each new cultural influx added to an already rich and complex history. More »

PHILLIPPE SIROIS is an accomplished North American folk artist, a fact attested to by the genuinely significant body of carvings he has produced during the past half century. The carvings are his own design in several significant aspects. They can be related to the works of late 19th century trompe l’oel painters such as William Harnett and Alexander Pope who, among other expressions, attempted to render "eye-fooling" hanging game paintings. For effect, their paintings relied on an extreme realism that concentrated on minute detailing. Sirois’ carvings may also be compared on a superficial level with the popular service area of the taxidermist whose main business purpose is the preservation of trophy catches as documentation of sport. Sirois’ bas relief fish carvings are a documentation of the sport of fishing in the true trompe l’oel sense. Each of his fish is an exact scale carving and painting of a fish he caught primarily to eat; and at first glance, Sirois’ fish carvings appear to be as real as the fish he caught. More »