Fun fact: Wikipedia has no page dedicated to traditional art, and instead redirects to folk art, According to them, Folk Art is "
art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople.". Essentially, art created by everyday people, usually based on their culture or other beliefs, or as a way to convey a message about their lifestyle or culture. The explanation goes on to say: "As a phenomenon that can chronicle a move towards civilization yet rapidly diminish with modernity, industrialization, or outside influence, the nature of folk art is specific to its particular culture. The varied geographical and temporal prevalence and diversity of folk art make it difficult to describe as a whole, though some patterns have been demonstrated.". Basically, it's a means of keeping a record of a culture or civilization until they have a better or more efficient means of doing so. That's not to say it completely dies out when this happens. People will continue to make Traditional Art because it's just that, traditional.
There are some overlaps between traditional art and other forms of art, since traditional art is essentially the basis of all other art. There are also multiple terms used interchangeably with folk art, such as: "naïve art, tribal art, primitive art, popular art, outsider art, traditional art, tramp art, self-taught art, and working-class art/blue-collar art. As one might expect, these terms can have multiple and even controversial connotations but are often used interchangeably with the term "folk art".".
Here are a few examples of traditional art:
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| Norwegian Folk Art, This particular piece is a calendar stick from the 17th century. |
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| Gran Calavera Electrica, a Mexican Traditional piece from the early 20th century. |
Lastly, it's also worth noting that all Folk/Traditional art was or is contemporary art.
