The term in this comprehensive context combines some quite disparate categories of art therefore, as a workable field of art-historical study, folk art is generally treated separately from certain other kinds of peoples’ arts, notably the “primitive” (defined as the work of prehistoric and preliterate peoples). In the broadest sense, folk art refers to the art of the people, as distinguished from the elite or professional product that constitutes the mainstream of art in highly developed societies. For folk art in the broader sense, see also folk dance folk music folklore folk literature. This article focuses on the usual sense of the term folk art-that is, on the visual arts. Folk art is the creative expression of the human struggle toward civilization within a particular environment through the production of useful but aesthetic buildings and objects.

SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!įolk art, predominantly functional or utilitarian visual art created by hand (or with limited mechanical facilities) for use by the maker or a small circumscribed group and containing an element of retention-the prolonged survival of tradition.

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India folk art paintings on stone