View source for Tramp art


'''Tramp art''' is a style of [[woodworking]] which emerged in America in the latter half of the 19th century. Some of tramp art's defining characteristics include chip or notch carving, the reclamation of cheap or available wood such as that from cigar boxes and shipping crates, the use of simple tools such as [[pocketknife|penknives]], and the layering of materials into geometric shapes through glue or nails.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Daniels |first1=Mary |title=Tramp Art, the Ugly Duckling of the Folk Art World |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-05-28-8902040757-story.html |accessdate=1 March 2020 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=May 28, 1989}}</ref> One technique used in tramp art is [[Crown of Thorns (woodworking)|Crown of Thorns joinery]].
==History==
Although widespread use of wooden cigar boxes in the 1850s sparked involvement in tramp art,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vandertie |first1=Adolph |last2=Spielman |first2=Patrick E. |title=Hobo & Tramp Art Carving: An Authentic American Folk Tradition |date=1995 |publisher=Sterling Pub Co Inc |isbn=978-0806931852}}</ref> it was most prevalent during the [[Great Depression]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fendelman |first1=Helaine |last2=Rosson |first2=Joe |title=Treasures: A 'crown of thorns' tramp art frame |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/treasures-a-crown-of-thorns-tramp-art-frame/ |accessdate=1 March 2020 |work=The Seattle Times |date=July 7, 2011}}</ref>
Tramp art was made around the world but it prospered in the United States. Examples can be found in every state. The most common forms were the box and the frame and although there were no rules or patterns to lend commonality in the artists’ work there were objects made in every conceivable shape and size including full sized furniture and objects of whimsy.
Tramp art was an art form made wherever the raw materials used in its construction were found. It appealed to men who might have made an important body of work such as ‘Sunflower’ artist John Martin Zubersky (active c. 1912 – 1920) or the wonderfully expressive wall pockets by John Zadzora (active circa 1910) but also to men who might have made one piece in their lifetime. It was easy to make and appealed to anyone who had a desire to take a pocketknife to wood.
There were countless men, some women, and even children who historically constructed tramp art.
==Origins of the term==
A 1959 article by Frances Lichten in ''Pennsylvania Folklife'' used the term "tramp work" to describe crafts constructed from waste materials such as discarded cigar boxes and assembled with a penknife.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lichten |first1=Frances |title="Tramp Work": Penknife Plus Cigar Boxes |journal=Pennsylvania Folklife |date=Spring 1959 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=2-7 |url=https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=pafolklifemag |accessdate=1 March 2020}}</ref> Contemporary scholars and art dealers such as Clifford A. Wallach have noted that while this art form may have been practiced among America's [[homelessness|itinerant]] population, it was by no means unique to them and was practiced by factory workers, farmers, and laborers in other occupations.<ref>{{cite web |title=No Idle Hands: The Myths & Meanings of Tramp Art |url=http://www.moifa.org/exhibition/2834/no-idle-hands-the-myths-meanings-of-tramp-art |website=Museum of International Folk Art |accessdate=1 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="TrampartHistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.trampart.com/history-of-tramp-art/|title=History of Tramp Art|author=Clifford A. Wallach|publisher=trampart.com|accessdate=1 January 2014}}</ref>
In 1975 [[Helaine Fendelman]] published the first book on tramp art, ''Tramp Art an Itinerant's Folk Art''. The book acted as a catalog to the first museum show on the art form sponsored by the [[American Folk Art Museum]].<ref name="TrampartHistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.trampart.com/history-of-tramp-art/|title=History of Tramp Art|author=Clifford A. Wallach|publisher=trampart.com|accessdate=1 January 2014}}</ref> In 2017, the [[Museum of International Folk Art]] put on an exhibition that highlighted the enduring nature and broad reach of tramp art.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-13 |title=No Idle Hands: The Myths And Meanings Of Tramp Art - Antiques And The Arts WeeklyAntiques And The Arts Weekly |url=https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/no-idle-hands-the-myths-and-meanings-of-tramp-art/ |access-date=2023-01-12 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Bibliography==
Books on Tramp Art:
*{{cite book|author=Helaine Fendelman|title=Tramp Art, An Itinerant's Folk Art|location=New York|publisher=E. P. Dutton & CO.|year=1975}}
*{{cite book|author=Clifford A Wallach and Michael Cornish|title=Tramp Art, One Notch at a Time|location=New York|publisher=Wallach-Irons|year=1998}}
*{{cite book|author=Helaine Fendelman and Jonathan Taylor|title=Tramp Art A Folk Art Phenomenon|publisher=Stewart, Tabori & Chang|location=NY|year=1999}}
*{{cite book|author=Clifford A Wallach|title=Tramp Art Another Notch, Folk Art from the Heart|location=Atglen, PA|publisher=Schiffer Publishing Ltd|year=2009}}
*{{cite book|author=Clifford A Wallach|title=A Legacy in Tramp Art|location=Atglen, Pa|publisher=Schiffer Publishing Ltd|year=2012}}
==See also==
*[[Folk art]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.folkartmuseum.org/ American Folk Art Museum]
[[Category:American art movements]]