Live Blogging: Great And Mighty Things

This morning we are live blogging from the magnificent Philadelphia Museum of Art which is showcasing its new exhibition Great and Mighty Things, Outsider Art from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection.
We are particularly pleased to be here as Sheldon Bonovitz is a renowned Philadelphia lawyer (a partner at Duane Morris) and both Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz are passionate art collectors and Jill Bonovitz is a noted artist in her own right.
This extraordinary collection comes with a promise of a gift of nearly 200 paintings from Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Also, more than 4,500 school children from Philadelphia schools will be transported to the exhibition thanks to a gift from Jill and Sheldon and others.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art will now jump into the top tier of collectors of outsider art -- a form of art not found in abundance in many museums.
Married for 46 years, Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz have always made art an important part of their lives. They started buying self-taught art early on and according to Sheldon "after about seven years, we began to be viewed as collectors of this particular kind of art."
Outsider artists have no formal training. They are completely self-taught and in many cases simply felt compelled to create art. American outsider artists are often from rural areas of the nation and in some cases their art is related to a craft or occupation that they pursue.
Sheldon sys that he and his wife like this type of art because it demonstrates that "there's no fence around genius or creativity" and that you never know what kind of talent a person may have or what he or she can achieve.
Sheldon says "it's so exciting to see these pieces all in one place."
He notes that the art has always been shared with the public since much of it has been on display at Duane Morris. "So we believe in sharing it and showing it and we are confident that the museum -- with modern technology and so forth -- will give this art an international audience," Sheldon adds.
He also notes that this art spans "all ages, all races and all economic backgrounds."
In a sense this is "people's art" and it is remarkably appealing and accessible and has even proved to be particularly appealing to children.