The word liberty is used a lot but it's not often that individuals think deeply about what the word means, says Rebecca Hoffberger, the founder of Baltimore's American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM.)
Hoffberger's goal with AVAM was to create "a grassroots salon that would tackle all the great themes that have ever bedeviled and inspired human kind." The most recent exhibition, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness featured a wide range of self-taught artists including Saddam Hussein's personal doctor, Ala Bashir, and a schizophrenic hoarder named Dick Lubinsky. The exhibition provides an unforgettable commentary on an American truism. Hoffberger explains that art is strongest when it portray's life experiences that are "too big for words" and that art is powerful tool for those trying to express "the need for liberty."
Produced by Dan Hayes. Camera by Jim Epstein and Joshua Swain. Edited by Hayes. Music by Dan Thieman.
Approximately 7.30 minutes.
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