Bottle Cap Art Monuments

Unsealed: Bottle Cap Art | The Woolseys | The Patent Drawings | How To | The Race QuestionThe Blockbuster
The Galleries: Masterworks | Troops | SignedFlashersOther ShapesMine | Bottle Cap Inn | Two Monuments

It was not the most expressive bit of folk art ever, but this decorated shed in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, demonstrated the kind of vernacular creativity that comes at great effort but goes away quickly, almost casually.

The vintage is 1950s. At the time I photographed it the barn was said to be out of compliance with zoning rules and would be demolished to make way for new construction. That was years ago, so it’s certainly gone by now. Since the bottle caps were attached to panels that could, in theory, be removed, perhaps they were preserved.

Also on view is a bottle-cap Christmas tree spotted at Kitty’s Saloon in Kenosha, Wisconsin, photographed some years ago. The floor-to-ceiling sculpture, created by a patron, was to said to grow every year. The tower was not hollow.

Unsealed: Bottle Cap Art | The Woolseys | The Patent Drawings | The Race QuestionThe Blockbuster
The Galleries: Masterworks | Troops | SignedFlashersOther ShapesMine | Bottle Cap Inn | Two Monuments