On rare occasions , a thrift store or a pawnshop tin yield items of extreme value , but these are hardly the places yous tin aspect to bump into the museum manager of the Louvre or the Metropolitan. But Michael Frank is the caput of a museum of a dissimilar breed , in addition to a thrift store or a flea marketplace position is just the course of written report of identify he would see whenever he wants to enrich the museum's collection.
Frank industrial plant for the Museum of Bad Art , the alone museum inward the basis “dedicated to bringing the worst of fine art to the widest of audiences”. The museum has iii galleries inward Brookline , Somerville in addition to South Weymouth , all inward the Boston surface area , where upwardly to lxx pieces of atrocious artwork are displayed at a fourth dimension , although the museum's actual collection numbers nigh 600 pieces.
“Charlie in addition to Sheba” , a prototype at the Museum of Bad Art , where “art is also bad to move ignored.”
The Museum of Bad Art , or MOBA , began its journeying to a greater extent than than xx years agone inward 1994 , when antique dealer Scott Wilson spotted a prototype inward the trash —the iconic Lucy inward the Field alongside Flowers— in addition to showed it to his friends , who in addition to then suggested he start a collection. Wilson acquired a few to a greater extent than every bit terrible pieces in addition to began to concur receptions at his friend’s home. For a yr , these exhibitions were good attended prompting him to motion his collection to a ramshackle basement of a community theatre inward Dedham , Massachusetts. When the edifice got sold , he constitute a permanent dwelling inward the Somerville flick palace , “conveniently located merely exterior the men’s room” , where the constant audio of flushing john in addition to the aroma demeanour to the collection in addition to helps create a convivial atmosphere appropriate for a museum dedicated to preserving the best of the bad.
Later , ii additional branch galleries were opened inward Brookline in addition to South Weymouth , close Boston.
The museum acquires its collection from thrift shops , flea markets , garage sales , in addition to trash barrels. Often , artists themselves volition brand a donation. All submission to the museum must transcend through a rigorous review process. No children artworks are allowed , or fine art traditionally perceived as lesser inward lineament , such as dark velvet paintings , paint-by-numbers , kitsch , or factory-made tourist pieces.
"What nosotros aspect for are pieces of run that are produced inward an endeavour to brand around course of written report of artistic tilt — but clearly something has gone incorrect ," says Michael Frank. "There has to move something nigh it that makes yous halt , in addition to really ofttimes wonder why the creative someone continued downward the path to arrive at what he or she did."
Or , as honorary curator Ollie Hallowell puts , the fine art must choose "that 'Oh my God' quality."
"Nine out of 10 pieces don't brand it because they're slap-up plenty ,” said co-founder Marie Jackson. “What an creative someone considers to move bad doesn't ever run across our depression standards.”
Here are around samples. You tin browse their entire collection online.
Lucy inward the Field alongside Flowers , the get-go prototype that inspired the creation of the museum.
Sources: www.museumofbadart.org / Vice / NPR / Wikipedia