Black Velvet: The Art We Love to Hate

by Jennifer Heath

If you imagine black velvet painting to be limited to tacky, throw-away portraits of matadors, sad eyed clowns, and pool playing dogs, this book will make you think again. Black Velvet takes us into the world of velvet painting and opens our eyes to the unique, offbeat beauty of this fascinating genre, tracing its Japanese, Middle Eastern, and Victorian origins and examining its widespread appeal.

Genres: Art

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1994

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Reviews

[Sdawgg · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting but short collection of Mexican black velvet paintings. The author/curator argues that this velvet paintings are a style of folk art which has been unfairly stigmatized by the fine arts community, who are turned off by its admittedly trite content, the method of its production (often Mexican laborers working with stencils), and the target market: uncultured people, particularly rural Southwesterners.

She undercuts her thesis to some degree by including velvet paintings and mixed media pieces which were created by formally trained artists who create works for museums and wealthy patrons. They may share materials, but these works are very different from the bullfighters and Elvises being shown elsewhere in the book.

[Sarah]

By my mother

[Laurel Zito · Rating 1 out of 5]

This out of book friend is mostly a picture book which contains photos of black velvet paintings but I wanted to know more about the history of black velvet paintings.