The American Folk Art Museum has launched "Self-Made: A Century of Inventing Artists," a new exhibition exploring how self-taught creators define their own identities. Spanning from the early 20th century to the present, the show features a diverse array of mediums including painting, photography, and sculpture. Key works include John Kane’s 1928 self-portrait, which reflects his immigrant experience, and Joe Coleman’s contemporary reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic.
This exhibition is significant as it marks the museum’s first major investigation into self-representation among artists working outside the traditional academic system. By focusing on self-portraits, alter egos, and autobiographies, the show challenges historical media portrayals that often reduced these artists to "men of labor," instead allowing them to assert their own artistic agency and complex personal narratives.