Fri 9/19 @ 7-8:30PM
Sat 9/20 @ 11AM-5PM
Alfred McMoore (1950-2009) was an Akron resident who had schizophrenia. He was also a dedicated artist who worked every day on the giant pencil drawings he created on scrolls of paper five feet high and as long as fifty feet. Although there has been a surge of interest in this type of “outsider” art (art created by untrained individuals often outside the mainstream of society), McMoore’s work was difficult to show because of their size.
The Akron Art Museum is now remedying that with a new show titled Alfred McMoore: All This Luck In My Head, which should make the artist better known in his hometown. The centerpiece of a show featuring previously unseen work will be a scroll donated to the museum 30 years ago by Akron collector/antiques dealer Chuck Auerbach, who was friends with McMoore and who co-wrote a piece on him with Akron Beacon Journal reporter Jim Carnery in 2000. The two men’s sons formed the band The Black Keys, named after an expression McMoore used. The title of this show is another of his distinctive expressions.
The show will open to the public on Saturday September 20. But there is an opening celebration the evening before with music, art-making opportunities and a photo booth, with a cash bar available. It’s free to members, $20 to others.