Folk art around the world

On this page, a collection of folk art from various countries is shown. Pictures of the rich and varied Taiwanese folk art are presented on a separate page, see Culture: Folk art of Taiwan.

Wall painting in Tortuguero National Park, Limón, Costa Rica, depicting a golden-mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata ssp. palliata) and a brown-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus), with the following slogan, ‘Tortuguero es pura vida’ (‘Tortuguero is pure life’). (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Kitschy art in the Lesser Saint Bernard Pass, on the border between Italy and France: A Saint Bernard dog, made from gypsum or cement. In the background another sculpture, depicting a French police officer, complete with the red cap, the kepi. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Wall painting in Valparaiso, Chile, depicting hummingbirds and a lady with flowers of frangipani (Plumeria rubra) in her hair. This tree is native to Mexico, Central America, and northernmost South America, but has been introduced to almost all tropical and subtropical countries as an ornamental. Another name of the plant is temple tree, as it is often planted near Buddhist and Hindu temples. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Near the town of Garberville, California, I passed a storage place for hundreds of kitschy wood carvings. These pictures show four examples: Native American with war paint; Pinocchio and the fairy; a friendly bear; and the famous ’Bigfoot’, a creature like the Himalayan Yeti – a giant, human-like ape, which supposedly roams the forests of western United States. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

‘Look and decide!’ – Along many trails in the Himalaya, you find interesting information boards, painted by local artists, showing hiking trails, mountains, rivers, villages, and a selection of the local wildlife. These three boards were all encountered in the Modi Khola Valley, Annapurna, Nepal. In the upper picture, the board depicts a Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), a leopard (Panthera pardus), and a creature, which is probably a snow leopard (Uncia uncia), looking, however, more like a hybrid between a leopard and a tiger (Panthera tigris). – The board in the centre depicts mountains, a dancing couple, and a pair of kalij pheasants (Lophura leucomelanos), while the bottom one depicts a pale-armed langur (Semnopithecus schistaceus), playing a tabla. – Read about langurs, as well as many other monkeys, elsewhere on this website, see Animals: Monkeys and apes. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Wall painting in an abandoned house in Chile, depicting a caricature of Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (1915-2006), who was the dictator of Chile between 1973 and 1990. His nickname was Pinocchio. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Rusted entrance gate to an abandoned farm, the ‘Quail Rock Ranch’, depicting a family of California quail (Callipepla californica), Mohave National Preserve, California, United States. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Three sculptures in the town of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, depicting long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), which are numerous around the nearby Wenara Wana Temple, popularly called ‘Monkey Forest’. The sculptures depict a monkey playing cymbals, another one driving a motorbike, and a pregnant female. The motorcyclist has been adorned with a marigold flower. – Read more about long-tailed macaques, as well as many other monkeys, elsewhere on this website, see Animals: Monkeys and apes. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Sculpture on a roof top in Mendocino, California, United States, depicting the Death Angel, tugging the hair of a woman. A western gull (Larus occidentalis) is sitting on the head of the woman – perhaps waiting to see what happens? – Note the hourglass. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Painting on a church wall in Puerto Jiménez, Peninsula de Osa, Costa Rica, depicting St. Francis of Assisi with a white horse and a scarlet macaw (Ara macao). The latter was hardly known in Italy in those days! (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

This sign outside a tour agency in Tortuguero National Park, Limón, Costa Rica, advertising jungle trips, uses a white-headed capuchin (Cebus capucinus) and a great curassow (Crax rubra) as eye-catchers. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Catholic handicrafts from c. 1890, possibly originating in Germany, depicting the Three Wise Men, honouring the newborn Christ in the stables. According to legend, one of the Wise Men was black. – Read more about Christianity on this website, see Religion: Christianity. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Gnomes are much utilized as decoration in the Alps. In this picture from Boltigen im Simmental, Switzerland, they have been placed among scented geraniums – the most popular house plant in the Alps. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Street art: Figure, depicting Bhimsen, the Hindu god of trade, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. – Read more about Hindu gods elsewhere on this website, see Religion: Hinduism. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

This sculpture near Alliance, Nebraska, United States, which is made from scrapped cars, is called ‘Carhenge’. – It is clearly inspired by the famous Stonehenge in England, a picture of which may be found elsewhere on this website, see Culture: Megaliths. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During the Catholic Festival of the Dead, in America called Halloween, this Halloween ‘family’, partly made from pumpkins, is displayed outside a house in Cummington, Massachusetts. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Hearts, made from small stones with a hole in the centre, Boltigen im Simmental, Switzerland. In the background scented geraniums – the most popular house plant in the Alps. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Carvings in a window opening in the town of Puri, Odisha (Orissa), eastern India, depicting the black Hindu god Jagannath (a form of Krishna, who is an avatar of Vishnu), with his brother and sister. – Read more about Hindu gods elsewhere on this website, see Religion: Hinduism. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Following the nuclear destruction of Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, folded paper cranes became a symbol of peace. Thousands were folded by Japanese school children. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Wall painting, depicting a dragon, Chinatown, San Francisco, California. Read about the dragon in Chinese mythology elsewhere on this website, see Religion: Daoism in Taiwan. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Kitschy art on a restaurant wall, depicting brown bears (Ursus arctos), a capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), and a medieval hunter, Bluntau Valley, near Golling, Salzburg, Austria. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

(Uploaded September 2016)

(Revised continuously)

Kaj Halberg - writer & photographer

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Folk art around the world