American Visionary Art Museum

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness...


Art is a powerful tool for those trying to express "the need for liberty."

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 bedieviled and inspired humankind." 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's experiences that are "too big for words" and that art is a powerful tool for those trying to express "the need for liberty."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4to1SMLyA8o


Produced and edited by Dan Hayes. Camera by Jim Epstein and Joshua Swain. Music by Dan Thieman. Go to www.reason.tv for downloadable versions of the video and subscribe to ReasonTV on YouTube