May 18, 2021, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Joseph Yoakum’s Atlas

Online

Closed Captioning

Joseph E. Yoakum, Mt. Seple on Walgreen Coast of Marie Birdland, Oct. 3, 1969. Graphite, crayon, and ink on paper, 12 x 18 3/4 in. Collection of Robert A. Roth.

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Joseph Elmer Yoakum (1891–1972) spent the last decade of his life as a prolific artist, who made highly original, captivating drawn landscapes––evocations of places around the globe. Working in the privacy of his home studio, his work was discovered by an instructor from Chicago State College, where he had his first exhibition in 1967, followed by a second exhibition at a church, both on Chicago’s South Side. He landed an exhibition at a North Side gallery the following year, which was enthusiastically received by faculty and students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. This launched Yoakum into ever widening cultural spheres, and appreciation for his work has continued to grow over the past fifty years.

This program considers Yoakum’s “Atlas,” beginning in Chicago––where he is still revered––early impact on other artists and the presence of his work in their collections, his influence on successive generations of artists, and new insights into his life and work. The panel includes presentations by Cleo Wilson (former executive director of Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art), James Connolly (Collection Manager, Roger Brown Study Collection), Tim Nickodemus (artist), and Lisa Stone (educator), followed by a conversation moderated by Deb Kerr (Intuit’s current President and CEO).