The Humanities Center unveiled an exhibit of Polish folk art from the personal collection of Walter Whipple.
How do you tell the difference between folk art and fine art? According to Teaching Professor Emeritus Walter Whipple (Polish), the only real difference is in the price tag. In truth, folk artists are defined by their lack of formal training, but many folk artists’ work can easily rival that of professionally trained artists in terms of quality and passion. At the Humanities Center Art Talk on November 30, 2023, Whipple, along with Professor James Swensen (History of Photography, American Art and Architecture) and Natalie Parker (Art History & Curatorial Studies, ‘24), introduced an exhibit of Polish Folk Art centered around Joseph, husband of Jesus’ mother Mary, curated from Whipple’s personal collection and slated for display in the Humanities Center starting in 2024.
Whipple began amassing the collection when he served as a mission president of the Warsaw, Poland, mission in the early 1990s. By the time he returned home to the US, Whipple had obtained about 200 pieces of Polish folk art, most of which consisted of wood-carved sculptures. While in Poland, Whipple took the time to get to know many of the artists personally and was able to commission specific sculptures. Whipple continued adding to the collection after returning home, and today it includes nearly 500 pieces.
Parker, who curated the Humanities Center exhibit from Whipple’s vast collection, shared that the most impactful piece for her was Joseph the Carpenter by Bronisław Bednarz, which depicts Joseph at his work table. She said, “I just loved the idea that he was a carpenter, that these were made by woodworkers . . . The thing I like about Joseph is he doesn’t get a lot of recognition but he had a really important role to play, and if he didn’t play his role, Mary couldn’t have played hers.” The artist’s work is especially impressive considering that Bednarz, who lost his left hand in WWII, fashioned his own prosthetic with a sort of clamp to hold his chisel in place, which he would tap on with a mallet held in his good hand.
Swensen and Whipple also shared several stories about the artist Wacław Suska. Swensen, who served his mission in Poland under Whipple’s leadership, offered a fond memory about when Whipple took him and his companion along to meet the artist Wacław Suska on a preparation day. Suska invited Swensen to choose a piece first since he was the youngest person there. He chose St. Joseph with Child, and Whipple tried to convince him to choose Judas Betraying Jesus because Whipple wanted St. Joseph with Child himself. Whipple pointed out some of the fine details of Suska’s work, such as how Joseph’s robes flow, and explained, “We need to bear in mind that Wacław Suska was self-taught. He has never attended an art class . . . his work is ingenious, and he intuits all of this.”
Whipple concluded by sharing his hopes for the future of the collection, and explained that he wants to donate it to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through one of its universities or museums. His only stipulation for donating requires that some portion of the collection always be on display. He said, “I had a lot of wonderful experiences going around Poland and collecting this folk art. But I don’t feel like it belongs to me rightfully. If I can donate it to the Church in a proper way so that it will actually be seen, then I can continue to preach the gospel after I’m pushing up daisies.”
The Joseph exhibit curated by Parker will be on display beginning winter semester 2024. To learn about another exhibit curated from Whipple’s collection, which was previously displayed in the HBLL, click here. Additional pictures of that exhibit can be found here.