Hernández, Jo Farb

Authors

San Jose State University

Date Updated

5-29-2024

Department

Art and Art History

Academic Rank

Professor Emerita

Year Retired from SJSU

2019

Facebook or Website URL

Jo Farb Hernández https://jofarbhernandez.com/

Educational Background

Selected

University of California, Los Angeles. M.A. in Folklore and Mythology--concentration in Folk Art, 1975

University of Wisconsin, Madison. B.A. with Honors; Double Major in Political Science and French, 1974

Teaching Experience

Selected

Professor, San Jose State University, 2000-2019

Lecturer, University of California, Santa Cruz. 1999-2000

Administrative and Professional Experience

Director/Curator, Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, 2000-2019

Resident Director, California State University International Program, Madrid and Granada, 2015-2016

Director/Curator, SPACES – Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments (www.spacesarchives.org), 2006-2019; Director/Curator Emerita, 2019-present

Principal, Curatorial and Museum Management Services, 1993-present

Consulting Curator, Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, Monterey, CA. 1993-2001

Director, Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art. December 1985‑November 1993

Director, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA. January 1978‑November 1985

Graduate Advisor, San Jose State University, Arts Administration. 1979‑1980

Assistant to the Director, Triton Museum of Art. October 1977‑January 1978

Rockefeller Fellow, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. 1976‑1977

Registration, Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles. 1974‑75

Registration, Folklore and Mythology Department, University of California, Los Angeles. 1975

Service

American Association of Museums

• National Program Committee, 1992-93
• Museum Assessment Program Surveyor, 1990, 1994
• Panelist, Annual Meeting, 1983

United States Information Agency

• Proposal Review Panelist, 1992
• Lecturer, 1989
• Project Director, 1988-89

Western Museums Association (AAM Affiliate)

• Executive Board and Board of Directors, 1989-1991
• Program Committee, Annual Meeting, 1991, 1990 (Chair), 1984
• Chair, panel, Annual Meeting, 1986, 1984
• Nominating Committee, 1985-1986

California Association of Museums

• President, Board of Directors, 1991-1992
• Vice-President, Board of Directors, 1985-1991
• Executive Board, Board of Directors, 1993-1994
• Chair, Executive Search Committee, 1993
• Chair, Annual Meeting, 1990; Panelist 1993
• Chair, Nominating Committee, 1990, 1988, 1992-3
• Chair, Membership Committee, 1985-1987

California Arts Council

• Consultant, Grants Panel, Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, 1999
• Grants Review Panelist, Visual Arts Organizations, 1986, 1992
• Grants Review Panelist, Multi-Cultural Entry program, 1989
• Grants Review Panelist, Traditional Folk Art program, 1988-1990
• Site Evaluator, Visual Arts Organizations panel, 1985-1990
• Grants Review Panelist, Artist-in-Residence program, 1983-1985

Lectures widely at museums and universities internationally; juries national, statewide, and regional exhibitions; and has been a panelist for numerous governmental agencies, private foundations, and nonprofit organizations. Consult Curriculum Vitae for lists of Grant Review/Professional Selection Panels and Lectures/Guest Curating and Selected Board Memberships.

Selected Publications

Has authored or co-authored over thirty award-winning books and exhibition catalogues; Forms of Tradition in Contemporary Spain won the prestigious international Chicago Folklore Prize in 2006, and A.G. Rizzoli: Architect of Magnificent Visions (Harry N. Abrams, 1997) was one of Amazon.com’s “10 Best: Art and Architecture” books that year.

In 2008, received a Fulbright Senior Scholar award to research art environments in Spain. The groundbreaking book resulting from this research, Singular Spaces: From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments, was published by Raw Vision in 2013; it has been called the “…most impressive single volume of research ever published in the field of self-taught art.” Subsequent to its publication, she continued her fieldwork in Spain on art environments created by self-taught artists and Singular Spaces II was published in 2023 by 5 Continents Editions, Milan, Italy. Together these volumes, totaling some 2,300 pages and thousands of photographs, are the first and only scholarly investigation into this field, and therefore serve as an encyclopedic introduction to and treatment of this subject. Comments on this second volume note that it provides “…depth of scholarship and…a trove of information and a model of thoroughness for future researchers (besides the pleasures and insights it supplies current readers)…. Hernández throughout manages to be scholarly without being pedantic, thorough but not wordy. It is all extremely well written and edited, with expertise dripping from every page.”

Regularly publishes articles for a variety of international art journals; Contributing Editor for Raw Vision magazine, International Editorial Board for Elsewhere – the International Journal of Self-Taught and Outsider Art and Bric-a-Brac Arte Outsider journal.

Books/Catalogues

Singular Spaces II: From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments. Milano: 5 Continents Editions, 2023.

“Singular Spaces/Authentic Visons.” In Nonconformers, edited by Lisa Slominski: 217-221. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2022.

Escultors de la festa: Els tallers Sarandaca, Ventura & Hosta i Dolors Sans (1985 – 2018). Co-authored by Manel Güell Barceló, Bienve Moya, Jo Farb Hernández, Paco Cruz, Amadeu Carbó, and Xavier Cordomí. Lleída: Pagès Edicions: 2018: 31 - 43.

“Seeing with the Hand, Painting with the Eye: Dynamism of Surface and Movement in the Work of La Pinturitas” in Hervé Couton, La Pinturitas. Montauban: Éditions Alpas, 2018.

L’últim barret d’en Garrell. (Exhibition brochure). Salt (Girona), Spain: Casa de Cultura Les Bernardes, 2016.

Misch Kohn: Beyond the Tradition. (Exhibition brochure) Kokomo: Indiana University, 2016.

Where the Heaven Flowers Grow: The Life and Art of Leonard Knight. Introduction (photographs by Aaron Huey). Seattle: Outsider Press, 2015.

Singular Spaces: From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments. Watford: Raw Vision, 2013.

Creativity, Change, Commitment: A Celebration of 100 Years of the Department of Art. Introduction, Acknowledgments, and General Editor. San José: Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, 2013.

Jon Serl: The Mutability of Being. San José: Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, SJSU, 2013.

Gerald Walburg: Looking, Thinking, Making. San José: Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, SJSU, 2007.

Forms of Tradition in Contemporary Spain. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press/San Jose State Univ., 2005 .

Peter Shire: Go Beyond the Ordinary. Co-author and general editor; additional comments by Frank Lloyd, Marco Zanini, et al. San Jose: Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, 2004.

Marc D’Estout: Domestic Objects. Co-authored with Meredith Tromble, additional comments by Philip Linhares and Robert Milnes. San Jose: Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, 2003.

Sam Richardson: The Color of Space. Co-authored with Patricia A. Sanders, introduction by Cathy Kimball. San Jose: San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, 2002.

Irvin Tepper: When Cups Speak. Life with the Cup: A 25-Year Survey. (Additional essays by James Harithas, Janet Koplos, David A. Ross, Paul Schimmel et al). San José State University, 2002.

Mel Ramos. (co-authored with Flaminio Gualdoni and Enrico Mascelloni). Orvieto, Italy: Palazzo dei Sette, 2001. Holly Lane: Small Miracles. New York: Schmidt Bingham Gallery, 2001.

Mel Ramos: The Galatea Series. Hamburg: Thomas Levy Gallery, 2000.

Fire and Flux/An Undaunted Vision: The Art of Charles Strong. Co-author. Belmont, CA: Wiegand Gallery, 1998.

Misch Kohn: Beyond the Tradition. Monterey Museum of Art/Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1998.

Pohribny, Arsén, Pavel Konecny, Jiri Vykoukal, Jan Kriz, Jo Farb-Hernandez, Alena Nadvornikova, Jenny and Jan Hladikovi. Onirické vize Anny Zemankové. Muzeum umeni Olomouc (Czech Republic), 1998.

A.G. Rizzoli: Architect of Magnificent Visions. With Roger Cardinal and John Beardsley. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997.

Jeremy Anderson/The Critical Link: A Quiet Revolution. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1995.

Jeannette Maxfield Lewis:A Centennial Celebration Intro.and general editor. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1994.

Creating a Style: Sam Colburn/The Early Years. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1994.

Brad Cole: Another Room. Preface and general editor. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1993.

“Wonderful Colors!”: The Paintings of August Francois Gay. Introduction and general editor, Monterey Peninsula Museum, 1993.

Armin Hansen at the Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art. Introduction and general editor, Monterey Peninsula Museum, 1993.

Photographic Views of Meiji: A Portrait of Old Japan. Acknowledgments and general editor. Monterey Peninsula Museum, 1992.

Anders Aldrin: 1889-1970. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1992. (Brochure)

Alan Shepp: The Language of Stone. Introduction and general editor, Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1991

Lorser Feitelson: Exploration of the Figure 1919-1929. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1990.

The Quiet Eye: Pottery of Shoji Hamada and Bernard Leach. Introduction and general editor. Monterey Peninsula Museum, 1990.

The Expressive Sculpture of Alvin Light. Introduction and general editor. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1990.

Colors and Impressions: The Early Work of E. Charlton Fortune, Introduction and general editor. Monterey Peninsula Museum, 1989.

Jane Gottlieb: Monuments. Introduction. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1989.

From Old Timer to New Timer: The Life and Work of Mark M. Walker. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1989.

Earl Cunningham: His Carefree American World. Introduction. Mennello Foundation, 1989.

The Artist and the Myth. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1987. (brochure) Henrietta Shore. Introduction and general editor. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1986.

The Peters’ Heritage. Editor. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1987.

Armin Hansen at the Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art. Introduction and general editor. 1986.

The Monterey Photographic Tradition: The Weston Years. Introduction and general editor. Monterey Peninsula Museum, 1986.

The Heritage of India: Stowitts. Foreword. Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, 1986.

New Furnishings (co-authored with Marc D’Estout). Santa Clara: Triton Museum of Art, 1985.

Three From the Northern Island: Contemporary Sculpture from Hokkaido. Triton Museum of Art, 1984.

Crime and Punishment: Reflections of Violence In Contemporary Art. Triton Museum of Art, 1984.

Harriete Estel Berman: A Family of Appliances You Can Believe In. Triton Museum of Art, 1983.

Noritake Art Deco Porcelains. (Foreword). Museum of Art, Washington State University, Pullman, 1982.

Mexican Indian Dance Masks. Author. Triton Museum of Art, 1982.

Robot Sculptures/The Robot Builder’s Manual: Metal Works by Clayton Bailey. (co-authored with Clayton Bailey and Mark Levy), Triton Museum of Art, 1981.

Native American Artifacts of California and the Southwest. Editor, Triton Museum of Art, 1980.

Day of the Dead: Tradition and Change in Contemporary Mexico. (co-authored with Sam Hernandez). Triton Museum of Art, 1979.

Elizabeth Boott Duveneck: Her Life and Times. Editor, Triton Museum of Art, 1979.

Aasen, Freimark, Middlebrook: Horse of a Different Color. Editor, Triton Museum of Art, 1979.

Our Heritage in Clothing. Triton Museum of Art, 1978.

Journals/Collections

“Spain’s Art Environments are Further Explored in a New Book: Singular Spaces II.” The Outsider 28 (2024): 6-11.

“Entre Zoolitos y Troncosaurios en Buenache de la Sierra.” En Perspectiva, April 9, 2024. https://www.en-perspectiva.es/2024/04/09/entre-zoolitos-y-troncosaurios-en-buenache-de-la-sierra/

“Art Brut en España.” Máximo Rojo: Un jardín imaginario. Asociación Cultural de Alcolea del Pinar, Spain. March 28, 2024 – continuing. [Exhibition text]

“Singular Spaces II: Broadening the Commons – Spanish Art Environments.” Folk Art Messenger 33:2 (Fall 2023): 14-17. https://folkart.org/singular-spaces-ii-broadening-the-commons-spanish-art-environments/.

“Singular Spaces II: From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments.” SJSU ERFA Newsletter 37:1 (Fall 2023): 4-5.

“Environments Under Threat. Lanzarote: Pillimpo’s Place.” Raw Vision 115 (Summer 2023): 10.

“Richard Tracy (1933 – 2022).” Raw Vision 114 (Spring 2023): 11.

“Catalonia, Northeastern Spain: Josep Amenós Felip’s Hand-Constructed ‘Tire Park.’” brutjournal Annual 1 (2021-2022): 38-39.

“Edward Madrid Gómez. Fundador y Editor en Jefe de BRUTJOURNAL.” Bric-à-Brac 5 (2022): 35-40.

“Esther Mena Pérez: An Art Environment in Spain.” brutjournal 9, May 2022. https://brutjournal.com/article/esther-mena-perez-an-art-environment-in-spain/.

“Peter’s Garden.” Raw Vision 110 (Spring 2022): 48-53. https://www.pdcnet.org/esplace/content/esplace_2014_0006_0001_0097_0124

“Justo Gallego 1925-2021: Building a Dream with Belief,” Folk Art Messenger 31:3 (Winter/Spring 2022): 34-35.

“Remote, Rocky, and Remarkable: Josep Amenós Felip’s Hand-constructed ‘Tire Park,” brutjournal 5 (January 2022). https://brutjournal.com/article/spain-josep-amenos-felip/.

“Obituary: Self-Taught Cathedral-Maker Justo Gallego Martínez,” brutjournal 5 (January 2022). https://brutjournal.com/article/obituary-spanish-artist-justo-gallego/.

“Justo Gallego Martínez (1925-2021).” Raw Vision 109 (Winter 2021/2022): 13.

“Flamenco Nation: The Construction of Spanish National Identity.” By Sandie Holguín. Book Review. Western Folklore 81:1 (Winter 2022): 91-94.

“José Cao Lata: Art as a Call to Action/L’art comme un appel à se rallier.” Outsider Art & Co., Fall 2021 : 56-61.

“José Escuredo Vega’s Memorials of Art, Culture, and Devotion,” brutjournal 3 (October 2021). https://brutjournal.com/article/escuredos-art-environment/.

“In Spain, Unique, Site-Specific, Artist-made Environments Beckon – and Need Urgent Care,” brutjournal 1 (June 2021). https://brutjournal.com/article/n-spain-unique-site-specific-artist-made-environments-beckon-and-need-urgent-care-exclusively-for-brut-jo-farb-hernandez-reports/.

“Le torri di Sabato Rodia a Watts: Una Lunga Lotta e un’incerta Vittoria,” Osservatorio Outsider Art 21 (Spring 2021): 48-73.

“Taking it with you when you go: The Monumentality of Death and Everlasting Life in Artist-built Environments.” In Eternal Sadness: Representations of Death in Visual Culture from Antiquity to the Present Time, ed. by Luis Vives-Ferrándiz Sánchez. Monographic Issue, Eikón Imago 10, No. 1 (2021): 129-144. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/faculty_rsca/2470/

“Joe Cole: Art that Comes from Within,” Folk Art Messenger 30:2 (Fall/Winter 2020): 12-15.

“Parque Mudéjar creator passes away,” Raw Vision. https://rawvision.com/blogs/obituaries/news-felix-arranz-pinto-1934-2020?_pos=1&_sid=1f7b33700&_ss=r

“Félix Arranz Pinto (1934 – 2020),” Raw Vision 107 (Summer 2021): 14.

“La Lucha para Salvar La Casa de Dios de Julio Basanta y Otros Endangered Art Environments,” Revista Bric-a-Brac Arte Outsider 3 (Spring 2020): 44-50.

“In Memoriam: Roger Cardinal (1940-2019),” Revista Bric-a-Brac Arte Outsider 3 (Spring 2020): 5-8.

“’Pillipo’ José García Martín (1932-2019). Raw Vision 104 (Winter, 2019/2020): 12.

“Espacios Singulares,” OEE Texts. October 18, 2019. https://sites.google.com/site/oeetexts/farb-hernandez-jo-espacios-singulares

“Un livre en pierre: Esteban Martín, ” Artension 158 (November/December 2019): 16. “Environment Makers: Rhea Marmentini,” Raw Vision 103 (Autumn, 2019): 59.

“Environment Makers: Rhea Marmentini,” Raw Vision 103 (Autumn, 2019): 59.

“Environment Makers: María Rodríguez,” Raw Vision 103 (Autumn, 2019): 64.

“Environment Makers: Neus Sala,” Raw Vision 103 (Autumn, 2019): 65.

“Espacios Singulares: una introducción a SPACES y a los “art environments” en España y en el mundo,” Bric-a-Brac/Arte Outsider 2019: 2 (Summer 2019): 39-62. https://arteoutsider.com/revista/numero-2-2019/

“Materiality in the Study of Art Environments: Manuel Garrido Villalba and the Power of Stone,” Creatividad, fantasia, anécdota e ideación: Curiosidades estéticas e historiográficas en el Arte y la Cultura Visual. La Rioja: Aguja de Palacios Ediciones, 2018.

“Julio Basanta (1933 – 2018),” Raw Vision 99 (Autumn/Fall, 2018): 13.

“Home is Where the Heart Is: Built Environments of Expatriate Artists in Spain,” Revista Bric-à-Brac / Arte Outsider. Posted June 3, 2018. https://arteoutsider.com/environmentsofexpatriateartistinspain/

“The Work of SPACES,” Raw Vision 97 (Spring 2018): 20-29.

“Francisco González Gragera 1925 – 2016,” Raw Vision 94 (Summer 2017): 13.

“Singular Spaces: les environnements d’art en Espagne,” Création Franche 45 (December 2016): 16-21.

“Josep Pujiula i Vila: Miracle Builder 1937 – 2016,” Folk Art Messenger 27:1 (Fall/Winter 2016-2017): 37.

“Jeanne Smith Morgan: Life-Long Activist for the Watts Towers,” Folk Art Messenger 27:1 (Fall/Winter 2016-2017): 32-3.

“Folk Art in the Fine Art Museum,” Folklife and Museums: Twenty-First-Century Perspectives. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017: 89-105.

“Singular Spaces: The Power and the Passion of Spanish Art Environments,” Sans Soleil/Estudios de la Imagen 8 (2016), 285-303. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/58/

Outsider Art Sourcebook: An International Guide to Art Brut and Outsider Art. Raw Vision, 2016: 26, 36, 40, 233, 238, 261, 273, 275, 292, 332.

“Horace Pippin: The Way I See It, ed. by Audrey Lewis.” Book Review. CAA Reviews. Posted August 18, 2016. http://www.caareviews.org/reviews/2844

“Josep Pujiula i Vila 1937 - 2016,” Raw Vision 90 (Summer 2016): 11.

“Jon Serl,” As Essential as Dreams. Houston: The Menil Collection, 2016: 74-79.

“Battles of Good versus Evil in Contemporary Manifestations of Pre-Christian Traditions: The Catalan Correfoc,” Religious Diversity Today – Experiencing Religion in the Contemporary World: Volume II: Ritual and Pilgrimage. Denver and Santa Barabara: ABC-CLIO, LLC (2015) : Cover and 159-188.

“Labyrinth and Cabins of Argelaguer,” Forecast Public Art – Public Art Review. 52 (Spring/Summer 2015): 60-61. https://issuu.com/forecastpublicart/docs/par52

“The place to be; kunst-environments in Spanje.” Out of Art (Amsterdam) 10:1 (May, 2015): 34-39.

“Singular Spaces.” Raw Vision 85 (Spring 2015): 28-35. https://issuu.com/raw-vision/docs/rv85

“Josep Pujiula receives two awards.” Raw Vision 84 (Winter 2014/15): 10. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/55/

“Tra magia e meraviglia. SPACES e la documentazione di Art Environments [Between magic and marvel: SPACES and the Documentation of Art Environments].” Osservatorio Outsider Art 8 (Fall 2014)78-87.

“Singular Spaces.” The Outsider 19 (Fall 2014): 22-23.

“Local Art, Global Issues: Tales of Survival and Demise Among Contemporary Art Environments.” In Luisa Del Giudice, ed., Sabato Rodia’s Towers in Watts: Art, Migrations, Development. New York: Fordham University Press, 2014: 29-67. https://doi.org/10.5422/fordham/9780823257966.003.0001

“Peter’s Garden: Case Study of a Spanish Art Environment.” In Environment, Space, Place 6:1 (Spring 2014): 97-124.

“Leonard Knight 1931-2014,” Folk Art Messenger 25:1 (Spring 2014): 30. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/43/

“Singular Spaces: Spanish Art Environments.” Folk Art Messenger 24:3 (Fall/Winter 2013): 26-31. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/56/

"José María Garrido: A Sailor Without the Sea.” Elsewhere - International Journal for Self-Taught and Outsider Art I: 1 (2013): 88-102.

“SPACES - Past Successes, Future Goals.” Elsewhere - International Journal for Self-Taught and Outsider Art I: 1 (2013): 103-104

“Leonard Knight’s Salvation Mountain,” Raw Vision 78 (Spring 2013): 13. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/16/

“Francisco del Río Cuenca.” The Follies Journal. 12: 1–16. Birmingham, UK: The Folly Fellowship, 2013. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/42/

“Norman J. ‘Bud’ Goldstone 1926-2012,” Raw Vision 77 (Winter 2012/2013): 19. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/20/

“Linard Conference,” Raw Vision 77 (Winter 2012/2013): 63. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/17/

“Leonard Knight’s Salvation Mountain,” Raw Vision 75 (Spring/Summer 2012): 16. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/16/

“Juan María García Naveira,” The Follies Journal: Grottoes and Other Follies. 11: 47-72. Birmingham, UK: The Folly Fellowship, 2011.

“SPACES Update,” Folk Art Messenger 22:2 (Fall/Winter 2010/2011): 36. https://folkart.org/product/fam-222/

“Taya Doro Mitchell: Art for Healing,” Raw Vision 71 (Winter 2010/2011): 40-45. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/28/

“Watts Towers Conservation,” Raw Vision 71 (Winter 2010/2011): 14. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/34/

“Damage to Pujiula’s Towers,” Raw Vision 71 (Winter 2010/2011): 10. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/10/

“Teresa J. Wilkins, Patterns of Exchange: Navajo Weavers and Traders.” Book review. Western Folklore 69:2 (Spring 2010): 254-256. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/7/

“Diamond, Heather A. American Aloha: Cultural Tourism and the Negotiation of Tradition.” Book review, Western Folklore 69:2 (Spring 2010): 267-269. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/4/

“Tradition and Innovation: Extremeñan Connections and Collaborations,” Ceramics Technical 30 (April 2010): 59-64. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/32/

“Shukla, Pravina, The Grace of Four Moons: Dress, Adornment, and the Art of the Body in Modern India.” Review. Western Folklore 69:1 (Winter 2010): 132-134. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/26/

“Josep Pujiula i Vila: Out of the Ashes,” Raw Vision 68 (Winter/Spring 2010): 57. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/14/

Russell, Charles and Carol Crown, ed. Sacred and Profane: Voice and Vision in Southern Self-Taught Art. Review. Western Folklore 68:2-3 (Spring/Summer 2009): 369-371. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/3/

“The Creative Urge,” Raw Vision 67 (Fall 2009): 55. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/29/

“Watts Towers,” Raw Vision 67 (Fall 2009): 61.

“Seymour Rosen.” The Watts Towers: 50 Years Inspiring Art. Los Angeles: Watts Towers Art Center, 2009: 44. https://spacesarchives.org/explore/search-the-online-collection/watts-towers/

“Don Reitz: Out of the Ashes,” Ceramics: Art and Perception 77 (Fall 2009): 3-7. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/11/

“Catalonia’s Labyrinth: Life Cycle of an Art Environment,” Taking the Road Less Traveled: Built Environments of Vernacular Artists International Conference Proceedings. Sheboygan, WI: John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2009: 14-20. [conference 2007]

“Timelessness of Form,” Humberto Hermosillo Sculptor. San Jose: Hermosillo Trust, 2008:6-7. Co-authored with Sam Hernández.

"Spanish Environment Under Threat From New Road," Raw Vision 64 (Autumn 2008): 14. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/27/

"SPACES Archive," Raw Vision 63 (Summer 2008): 24. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/23/

"SPACES Update," Folk Art Messenger 20:1 (Spring 2008): 30. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/24/

“Weavings of War,” [book review]. Western Folklife 67:1 (Winter 2008): 126-7. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/8/

“A.G. Rizzoli: Master Architect,” The Outsider XII:2 (Fall 2007): 11-16. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/2/

“Josep Pujiula i Vila’s Labyrinthine Environment.” Folk Art 32:2 (Spring/Summer 2007): 64–72. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/15/

“Forms of Tradition in Contemporary Spain.” Folk Art 32:2 (Spring/Summer 2007): 72-73. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/12/

“Seymour Rosen.” Raw Vision 58 (Spring 2007): 34–37. “Seymour Rosen.” Folk Art Messenger 19:1 (Fall/Winter 2006): 35. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/25/

“Art Environments.” Encyclopedia of American Folklife. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2006. Vol.I: 50-54.

“Outsider Art.” Encyclopedia of American Folklife. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2006. Vol.III: 927-931.

“Patrick Arthur Polk, Botánica Los Angeles: Latino Popular Religious Art in the City of Angels.” Review. Western Folklore VXIV no. 3/4 (Summer/Fall 2006): 342-344. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/5/

“The Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery and the Department of Art and Art History, Santa Clara University,” American Folklore Society Public Programs Bulletin 23 (Spring 2006): 21-24. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/31/

Forms of Tradition in Contemporary Spain. 1st ed. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi and San José State University. 2005.

“Forms of Tradition in Contemporary Spain,” Raw Vision 51 (Summer 2005): 61

“Crafting Tradition,” Journal of American Folklore 117 (Spring 2004): 233-234. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/9/

“Irvin Tepper: When Cups Speak,” Kerameiki Techni (Athens) 46 (Spring 2004): 17-22.

“Collections Spotlight,” Le Temps. De Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University, Fall 2003: 7.

“Addition as Primary Structure,” Competitions: Architecture, Art, Planning. 13.2 (Summer 2003): 18-31.

“Josep Pujiula i Vila.” Raw Vision 40 (Fall 2002): 24-29. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/13/

“Raw Classics: A.G. Rizzoli,” Raw Vision 39 (Summer 2002): 61.https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/22/

“Watts Towers,” Raw Vision 37 (December 2001): 32-39. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/33/

“Misch Kohn: Beyond the Tradition,” American Art Review X:3 (May/June 1998): 164-9

“Magnificent Manifestation: The Symbolic Architecture of A.G. Rizzoli,” Folk Art 22.1 (Spring 1997): 34-45. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/18/

“The Dawn Drawings of Anna Zemánková,” Raw Vision 14 (Spring 1996): 40-45. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/30/

“Folklore and Museums: Issues and Applications,” Putting Folklore to Use. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1994.

“Armin Hansen,” American Art Review (Summer 1993): 156-157.

“Couple’s dream becomes shared vision and exciting reality,” Monterey Herald. May 27, 1993: Supplement: 1.

“Paul Dougherty,” 75 Works/75 Years: Collecting the Art of California. Laguna Beach: Laguna Art Museum, 1993.

“Wonderful Colors: The Paintings of August Francois Gay,” American Art Review (Spring 1993): 120-123.

“Two Sides of the Same Reality: The Day of the Dead in Mexico,” The World and I (Washington: Washington Times), November 1990.

“From Old Timer to New Timer: The Life and Work of Mark M. Walker.” Humanities Network. (California Council on the Humanities) Summer 1989: 10.

“Folk Art in the Fine Art Museum,” Folklife and Museums. Nashville: American Association of State and Local History, 1987.

“Clayton Bailey’s Robots,” Clayton G. Bailey: Science Fiction Sculpture. Walnut Creek Civic Arts Gallery, 1982

“Kottler Collection: Noritake Ware 1921-41,” National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts Newsletter, 6:2 (1982):6.

“Mexican Indian Dance Masks,” African Arts XIV:3 (May 1981). https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/19/

“Piecin’ & Quiltin’:Two Quilters in SW Arkansas,” Southern Folklore Quarterly 39:4 (December 1975): 363-75. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/artdesign_pub/21/

Consult Curriculum Vitae for additional information on book chapters, journals/collections, published photographs, videos, exhibitions, website texts, translations, television/radio/podcasts, and biographical listings.

Personal Commentary

Awards

In recognition of scholarly achievements, Hernández was lauded as San José State University’s “President’s Scholar” in 2014-2015, the highest honor awarded to a member of the faculty. Consult Curriculum Vitae for extensive list of awards.

Jo Farb Hernández, formerly Professor and Director of Exhibitions and Special Projects for the School of Art and Design (later the Department of Art and Art History) at San José State University, worked in the museum field for over forty-five years, including service as President of the California Association of Museums. A folklorist by academic training, her professional work explores a range of aesthetic forms and manifestations, straddling aesthetic boundaries in an attempt to free the discussion of artistic production from stultifying theoretical constructs that often have little relevance to the myriad of influences upon each creative act. Her curatorial efforts have been impressive and wide-ranging; she is equally comfortable with modern and contemporary as with "outsider," folk, and ethnic/tribal arts. She balances management and administrative duties and service to the field with singular curatorial projects that are informed by rigorous research, noteworthy design, and original thought, garnering awards for ground-breaking scholarship, creativity, and design. Reviews of her exhibition projects have appeared in such media organs as the New York Times, The New Yorker, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, Artweek, ArtNews, Art Journal, Art in America, Museum Anthropology, Folk Art, Folk Art Messenger, Raw Vision, Journal of American Folklore, Osservatorio Outsider Art, Bric-á-Brac Arte Outsider, El Diario de La Rioja, En Perspectiva, and more.

Between 2006 and 2019, Hernández served as Director of SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments), an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to document and advocate for "outsider" art environments and other self-taught artistic activity (www.spacesarchives.org). She has conducted primary in-situ fieldwork on art environments since 1974 across the U.S., Western Europe, and North Africa, and on Spanish, South American, and Balkan folk arts and performance events. Consult Curriculum Vitae for list of fieldwork research.

From 1994 on Hernández has also pursued selected curatorial projects on a freelance basis through Curatorial and Museum Management Services, her consulting firm for nonprofit arts organizations; her clients have included the Archives of American Art as well as numerous museums from San Francisco to New York, Chicago to Atlanta. She is a contributing editor for Raw Vision magazine, and a member of several national and international boards for nonprofit arts organizations.

Recognized as one of the primary experts in the field of "outsider art" environments, in 2008 she received a prestigious Fulbright Senior Scholar Research award to study Spanish art environments, the first ever awarded in this field. This fieldwork research forms the basis for Singular Spaces: From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments (2013), and a second volume, Singular Spaces II, published in 2023.

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