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American Visionary Art Museum
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39 reviews for American Visionary Art Museum
Hands down, this is not only the finest museum of its type, but one of the finest museum's in the world. And it consistently is rated as such, but folks that rate museums for a living. (That would be an interesting job to have, huh?).
Art and craft work by obsessed, usually untrained, compulsive, other-worldly artists.
The neatest, most enthralling work you'll see. Some of it will make you cry. Some of it will make you laugh. Almost all of it will make you shake your head in wonder.
As weird as I am,
I love quirky museums like AVAM!
Unlike the Walter's & BMA which are filled with antiquated art forms,
This museum is comprised of eclectic works from artists who don't conform.
The eccentric elements of these collections is what I love,
Especially the high patchwork whirligig twirling above.
The multitasking "Cram Guy" is my favorite piece on display,
It accurately mimics my life in every way.
Outside of the building display a number of psychedelic art,
The school bus plastered with mirrored mosaics is the most eye-catching part.
I am entranced by the "Bling Tree" hung with hundreds of glittering ornaments.
This is one of the museum ground's most colorful adornments.
The Tall Sculpture Barn adjacent to the wildflower garden is worth a visit.
Once a whiskey warehouse now housing kinetic sculptures...You can't miss it!
I had fun playing with the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre of moveable wooden figurines.
I met "Fifi" a giant pink poodle on a pedal powered mobile...Cutest thing I ever seen!
I wish the visitors stop comparing this to the free museums in DC,
The collections here are more whimsical and interesting to see.
It's best to come here with a creative open mind,
This is one of Baltimore's most unusual finds!
Simply amazing and thought-provoking. The mind is an unfathomable wellspring of genius and madness, and the works displayed here are proof of that. Reading the artists' histories gave such an interesting glimpse into the lives of these people. I prefer to think of the featured artists not as "nuts" or "freakshows" but as people who live within a different frame of reality...and who's to say that "ours" is the right one??
I don't get the negative reviews. This is not DC, nor a Smithsonian institute, so why would you expect to get in free? Museums are allowed to close down floors to change out exhibits. And IMO, I think the gift shop completely reflects the spirit of the museum...it's chaotic and cramped and packed with a lot of trivial items...almost like the mind of one of the featured artists.
Must-visit if you have any time in Baltimore. Period.
In researching a getaway weekend to Annapolis, I searched yelp for some fun things to do in neighboring cities. Based on the yelp reviews, I chose the American Visionary Art Museum. I knew I had to see artwork from some people who were actually, certifiably insane... because I'm a little crazy myself and I knew I'd find a kinship with these artists.
The museum is really incredible, and is housed in three buildings in Baltimore. I was first struck by the sculpture and art found outside the buildings. I've included some pictures. I particularly liked the wood fort, or castle, or hut, or whatever you want to call it. It was delicious and took me right back to my roots of growing up in the country surrounded by forests.
Some of the exhibits were disturbing, such as the OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Delight) display on the third floor. I loved the meticulous portraits, but the buttons and the fabric exhibits were creepy. I took feeling creeped out as a good thing since I'm not often challenged in this way by conventional museums.
Part of the museum was closed to us. It seems that every September the exhibits are switched out. On this visit, the entire second floor of the main building was closed. To compensate for the inconvenience, the admission price was reduced to $10.
One really cool thing happened while we were there. While I was reading about one exhibit, a gentleman with a dolly came by with a disassembled cake on it. Next to the cake was an order sheet from Charm City Cakes. Seems that the museum was having a soiree on the third floor and had commissioned a cake from Charm City. Being a fan of the show, Ace of Cakes, I was excited to be this close to one of their creations.
As a previous reviewer mentioned, the museum store is a bit overwhelming. It is overrun with kitschy materials, books, gadgets and accessories. It was a bit overwhelming. But what I think the store is trying to do is to supply visitors with materials to create their own funky art--many pieces in the museum are made from "found" objects, and there are art cars with various trinkets glued to the outside of the car.
Be aware that this museum isn't going to rate up there on artistic skill level with traditional art museums you may find in the major art cities, and it's not meant to. This museum is here to represent people who don't see the world the same way an average person does. So enjoy having your perceptions challenged.
This is a totally bizarre, unique, crazy museum. We came here for a PostSecret event last summer so we got free admission to the museum afterwards. The museum itself is fun but I also really liked the gift shop. Like someone else said, it is very kitsch-y, but besides the shitty Spencer Gift type merchandise, they have a lot of interesting stuff. I came out with a lot of quirky little knick-knacks (jewelry, note cards, notebooks, etc) that I probably wouldn't have seen at many other places.
FYI, they just raised their adult admission slightly, to $14, and their Joy America Cafe is still closed (not sure when it's going to open back up, I think it's been closed for at least a year).
4.5 stars. The outside of this building is so neat, and the artwork inside looks like its made by crazy people. Some of it literally comes out of mental health care facilities. If you are used to the free museums of DC, you might balk at the admission price, but you certainly will recognize immediately that this ain't your average Smithsonian. If you are touring Bmore, take a stroll around the harbor to this museum.
Other Yelp people have it right. The Visionary Art Museum is a totally unique, can't-look-away kind of place. It's like 70% freakshow, 20% traditional art museum, and 10% mental asylum.
When they say "visionary," they mean that the artists are nuts and/or ahead of his/her times.
The really notable part of this museum, I think, is the fine line it walks between irony and seriousness. It purports to be an actual museum with entry fees, memberships, and a cafe. But it also has a model Lusitania made of toothpicks, Bic pen drawings of tribal Pakistanis boarding UFOs, a diorama of gambling monkeys carved from peach pits, and a gift shop that capitalizes on the timelessness of fart jokes. Double irony points for the waterfront Ritz-Carlton condos across the street.
If you can't look away from car wrecks yet you have artistic pretensions, this museum is the place for you. It's awesome and artistic in a National Enquirer-meets-Architectural Digest kind of way.
Totally loved this place - it wasn't free but it was worth the admission price. Spent the morning @ the traditional Baltimore Art Musuem (and the day before @ the Smithsonian) so this was a nice change of pace.
The museum store is worth a visit. Unique novelty items. I bought all my gifts at this store. Can I entice you with "gummy bacon?"
Don't forget to check out the kinetic displays in the other building. Also recommend taking a walk up the hill next to the park to check out the beautiful views of the harbor.
My mom and dad took my daughter and I to this museum a few years back and we had a great time. One of the best museums I've been to and one really good reason to go to Baltimore. Amazing creations coming out of people who would never get their stuff into more pretentious museums.
Love love love this place. A must see for visitors and locals alike. Take time to read about the art, the stories are as intriguing as the works. Not your typical art museum. Gift shop is an exhibit on itself. Best place to find sogh art, we've just bought our 5 and 6 pieces. only place you can see an exhibit to OCD and an amazing set of micro sculptures on pencil tips.
This is definitely my most favorite museum anywhere thus far in life!
In many years, I have not found one, near or far, to come close to what this museum offers.
As I am originally from Bmore, this place has been in my "places i must visit" category each time I am back in the city that reads.
The visionary artists are people who hail from small southern towns, jail cells, psychiatric hospitals, and the like...most of these people are self taught and many use found objects to create their art.
Even their stories seem to be so compelling as you wander through the museum examining and enjoying their amazing creations.
There is a permanent collection which has some of my favorites, including an old door with shards of a broken plate glued all over it like mosaic tile, and words talking about how the artist had broken a plate just like it. There is a whole plate on the top of the door showing what it looked like before broken. The words are painted onto the door.
The exhibits seem to change about once a year, and I have only seen it really crowded the most around the holidays.
Another one of my favorite visionary artists had made 3x3 pictures made of thread from his socks. They were very detailed and absolutely amazing!
I have taken my parents here and many friends as well. Fun gift shop. Nice views of inner harbor. Easy parking.
Even the bathrooms are decorated and provide whimsy to your experience!
Maybe I'm just not as cool as the average yelper but I couldn't really get into this museum. I've had tons of time off from school so I've been filling my time up lately with many trips to museums. This one I'd never heard of before and with such great reviews I decided to give it a try, but I wasn;t really feeling it...
1) I had to pay $8 i'm used to free museum's DC has spoiled me
2) Less visionary more like art made by mental patients, most of it lacked skill but true to the name nne of it lacked vision.
3) Nothing wowed me, it was amusing and entertaining at points but overall with such great ratings I guess I expected more
I was happy to have gone, I don't think I'll be back though. Oh my favorite part was the gift shop five stars for the gift shop!!
Brilliant. Every time i go here I end up seeing something mind bending. Certainly the artwork by people with severe mental illness is the most fascinating (why isn't Van Gogh in here?), and even better are the descriptions of the art and artists. Here is a paraphrased example:
"The artist was in a catatonic state here whole life, she woke up screaming one day, ran outside cut down an apple tree with a ball point pen and carved the sculpture before you with her teeth. She than went back to her chair and didn't speak or move for the rest of her life"
okay, so I used a little hyperbole, but not much!
I agree with a previous poster that Mose T. and Howard Finster stuff is pretty boring, and there are parts of the museum that I tend to skip, but overall this museum is great!
I think my favorite part though is it's gift shop. All sorts of interesting and funny tsochke, but last time I was there, I was able to buy some original artwork for down rite cheap!
My only regret is that living in Washington, I am so used to free museums!
Where else can you see a 12 foot rotating hand-made plaster of paris replica of Divine? Or a 20 foot pedal powered mobile pink poodle? or a giant hand emerging from a building? or a mirrored 4 foot egg? I could go on... but that might spoil the fun for the unitiated. If outsider art interests you, then this is a must see. If the odd and quirky interest you, then this is a must see. If you are visiting Baltimore... well... you get the idea.
As my family is close with several of the artists featured at this wonderful waterfront museum in Baltimore, I'm naturally biased. Having grown up surrounded by eccentric collectors of Outsider Art and many artists themselves, I was thrilled to see a museum in the area open that featured the extraordinary works of these often misunderstood and misrepresented artists.
The works you will find in their collection will both surprise and delight you. Some may scare, startle, or confuse you...all will make you stop, think & discuss. I fully believe that the purpose of art is to move, teach & delight the soul and I think the curators of the Visionary museum have done a fantastic job at keeping the works displayed fresh & innovative. They have given many emerging artists a voice and opportunity to shine and have a real appreciation for some of the early pioneers of this artform...their Finster collection alone brings private collectors from all over to debate & discuss his works.
The Visionary Art museum is a true gem, not just for Baltimore, but for American Museums at-large. The outsider art movement has done a considerable amount of growing since the inception of this museum years ago, and is finally gaining the respect and recognition it deserves.
Warning to the reader: I can't stand folk art. So if you like it, then take my review with as many grains of salt as you wish. I have never been more disappointed with a museum in my life. My wife took me here a few years ago. My first thoughts going into the AVAM were, "God, please don't let this be an entire museum of Mose T. and Howard Finster."
And what was it? An entire museum of (almost all) Mose T. and Howard Finster. I felt like I was looking at a bunch of refrigerators with kids' pictures on them. Spare me the lecture. It is not art.
Good location and interesting layout, but if you are coming here to see incredible works of art, then you should march your arse directly to the Baltimore Art Museum.
Upon entering we noticed the article claiming that this museum is ranked higher than all of the Smithsonian's.... I was a bit doubtful at first.
Go here if you:
...need to get out of the mundane
...appreciate eccentric people and ideas
...want to feel more normal
There are actual post secret postcards that line the stairwells in the main building. Some of the art was very dark, some was happy and light, and some was just plain odd. $6 for students even if you forget your ID. Don't forget to get your photo taken in the booth on the bottom level of the main building.
This may be my favorite museum of all time. It is wonderful to see a whole museum devoted to outsider artists, because 90% of "outsider" art is more interesting than "real" art. (Isn't that strange how that works out?)
The museum isn't huge, but crammed with interesting art, expect to spend at least an hour here. The gift shop is amazing, too. The kicker of my visit here was getting my normally art museum resistant husband to admit that he had a great time, and would gladly return.
Took my bf and his family here last time we were in town. This was the best museum I've visited in a long time. Great exhibits.
My bf is sitting here, reading over my shoulder as I type. He insists that I accurately represent what happened. He, in fact, says that he took me here since he did the driving. So, pardon my earlier statements. They were factually erroneous. Good thing I have Captain Truth here to make sure I don't take any liberties with *my* yelp posts.
This is certainly one of the oddest yet most interesting art museums I have ever been to. This museum features artworks by those who are 'self-taught'--a true definition of artistry.
The gift shop itself is also quite unique. Among the trinkets I found are old politcal buttons.
Its uniqueness is too difficult to describe in one pithy review. Definitely check this place out if you're ever in Baltimore.
Thank you yelpers for leading me to this museum. I absolutely loved it here. Even the building is awesome, with it's mosaic tiled exterior.
AVAM is filled with art created by people with no formal artistic training, and it's totally worth the $12 admission price. Currently the exhibit features perceptions of religion, and it's really great. There are shrines of all descriptions, felted works, collaged sculptures and a large collection of postcards sent to POST SECRET. There's even art in the bathrooms.
The shop is also amazing, and you could definitely spend a long time browsing there too. It features all sorts of funny little kitschy items along with original and reprinted art. Somehow I resisted spending tons of cash there and limited myself to two Virgin Mary bracelets and a Communist propaganda poster. If I lived closer, I'd do my holiday shopping there!
I do, however, wish that the vintage photo booth hadn't been broken and that the cafe wasn't closed.
I find myself taking guests,friends and family to visit this museum.
So many reactions to the place. The location, the architecture and the collection stimulates, interests or disappoints. No matter - it stirs the artistic imagination. Gift shop is fun. Everybody seems to enjoy the experience. I am now a member.
One of the best lay outs for a museum. The exhibits tend to be a bit more cliche than interesting but the over all experience is definitely worth the admission. If you can get to the roof top for Joy America, I recommend doing so. It has am amazing view with a unique menu.
dizzle!
One of the most fascinating museums you will ever visit for nontraditional artists. As others have mentioned, the stories behind some of these pieces are remarkable.
Maybe a third or more were produced by people with mental health issues, which if you've ever interviewed a schizophrenic or manic patient, you'll see right away. Think of all that creative manic energy thrown on a canvas or into hugely large installation pieces...or see the psychotic patients' constant representations of eyes looking at them, or canvases filled with math and numbers over, and over, and over... truly fascinating. There was a group of thought in NY for awhile that art helped heal mental disease, I wonder what ever happened to these artists and if they got better.
Not all the art is that way, there are great pieces by many other artists that just have a genius for the nontraditional or odd way of seeing the world. Go with an open mind - you'll love it.
I went back to revist AVAM this weekend and I have to say I really think they have lost the thread of what they are about. I, for one, was not impressed by the museum shop...I believe they have gone too far into kitsch. I'm not adverse to kitsch, but I was overwhelmed and a lot of the stuff has gone too far towards the "junk" side. The artwork is amazing...but I think it tends too far towards the same story over and over. Also...I have never visited when the cafe is not closed til further notice. Annoying.
Wow.
WOW.
You will see things here you'll never see anywhere else. Unless you're committed or sent to a penitentiary, I guess. But I hope that doesn't happen to you. Go to the Visionary Arts museum instead, and be thankful that there are folks out there who are a little (or a lot) "tetched."
Great museum as everyone has said so far. One less star JUST FOR THOSE EFFIN' STAIRS that always make me feel like I'm about to fall into an abyss (maybe it's just me). Also it's not free (yet). But a very minor gripe--I'm willing to pay for AVAM. Gift shop is also fantastic and if it had its own Yelp page, it'd get a 5 from me!
This place is the BEST! I love it to death!
Dana L is right on, the fact that these artists are on the edge of sanity makes it just that much better. You won't see art like this anyplace else, and it will hauuuuuuuunt you!!!!
Plus, the gift shop is faboooo to the max.
One of the coolest museums I have ever seen. Where else can you see innovative works by certifiable (literally) artists. A number of the artists (none of whom have any formal training) are in prison or mental institutions, which makes the art all the more memorable. For example, one artist made his tapestries by unravelling socks for thread. I would definitely go here, and check out the cafe if you get a chance.
This museum blows me away every time I step foot inside. Being a New Yorker, I expect A LOT from museums and the Visionary Art Museum delivers. It delivers so much in fact that I think this might be one of my most favorite art museums in the country. I have never experienced a place so whimsical, insightful, inspirational but down-to-earth at the same in my life.
Possibly the most influential institution in my life; it was a pillar of my adolescence, and even now that I am older, (relatively)well-adjusted and stable, it's still an absolutely wondefully eclectic experience.
The American Visionary Art Museum is like no other place I've been. This venue showcases art that you might see no where else - unless you wandered the country looking in backyards, nooks and crannies. I've visited a few times and found the works to be authentic and passionate in ways that really grab me.
Thank you Yelp-ers! This is a new addition to the city since I moved to Cali in 2001 and I doubt I would have found it on my own. We went in April 2008 on a visit "back home." I meandered through and suggest you do the same. The pictures we took of the building and some sculptures were amazing, and I loved the painted screen exhibit. Talk about taking me back! Wow.
Everything about this museum is amazing. The building itself is an architectural and artistic gem in Baltimore. Anything that adds beauty to Baltimore gets 5 stars in my book. Also, the creations within the museum are incredibly imaginative. Reading the stories and artist backgrounds really added to the experience. This is not your average art museum.
Incredible shows,beautiful building,and cool giftshop.Check out the outdoor movies they show on Thursday nights on the hillside.Don't sleep!
AVAM is my favorite museum in the universe. Better than MOMA, the National Gallery, LACMA, the Whitney...okay, I've never been the Louvre, but I like my art weird, and AVAM delivers just that. The first time I ever went, it was the "Art of War and Peace" installation in 2002, and it was just incredibly powerful. Every exhibit is. I've never been let down. The art is fantastic, and fascinating. GREAT gift shop, too! Awesome place to look for gifts.
I was just talking to a friend the other day about how I always like this museum in theory and then every time I go I feel a little let down. Some of their exhibits are incredible and some of them make you wonder why you paid to get in. Alot of the museum is a permanent exhibit too (the first and fourth floor...and it's a little space): so it's kinda like how many time do you need to see a sweater made out threads pulled from a towel? It is still worth checking out if you are visiting Baltimore.
A very original museum devoted to the self-taught art. The Home and Beast exhibit was excellent to the point where I was forced to revisit the works (especially that of Christine Sefolosha) three times before I departed. The AVAM felt very alive despite the relatively small permanent exhibit and unorthodox setup. The lives of the artists are even more interesting than the work. An excellent museum supporting a noble community cause.
this is a really cool & provocative collection! i agree with the reviewer who wrote that reading about the artists' lives is just as if not more interesting than their creations.
