Antoni Gaudí, perhaps more than any other architect, represents the triumph of genius. Not because his designs are better than anyone else’s (though some might argue they are), but because they are so utterly idiosyncratic yet so monumentally visible in the city of Barcelona. Gaudí’s intensely personal vision prevailed in a field that, because of its visibility, has a tendency toward conformity. Gaudí, though, is not just tolerated but celebrated — indeed, funded, in the case of Sagrada Familia’s continuing construction. Here’s a stroll through his greatness.
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Don’t Get Excited
The Spanish keep calm when it comes to business names.
Continue readingThe Western Avenue And Vicinity Gallery: Lincoln Avenue
Anchored by the fast-food spectacular at Shelly’s Freez, Chicago’s Lincoln Avenue from Irving Park Road north is a treasure trove of fine art and architecture.
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The Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix
Charlevoix, Michigan, developer Earl Young’s constructions showed a personal vision almost from the first house he built, starting in 1918, but fortunately the vision had several decades in which to fully flower. Even without their wacky appearance, the “mushroom houses” he went on to plant in Charlevoix would be interesting as examples of progressive residential architecture ahead of the post-war building boom. But their oddity makes them a unique case of one man successfully expressing a highly idiosyncratic vision across a whole swath of city.
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Souls Grown Deep — Art Gone Wild
A recent visit to the Souls Grown Deep/Bill Arnett art warehouse in Atlanta was even more mind boggling than reports had led me to expect. The space was bigger and the profusion of work more out of control. A modest selection was more or less set out for easy viewing, but that represented only a fraction of the collection. There were boxes and racks and cases and cartons of work spread around two massive rooms, corrals of sculpture, stacks of drawings, piles of books — just what you’d expect from a collecting mission that has outrun any efforts to organize
Continue readingHoward Finster Time!
Experience Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden, site of a one-person creative flowering like few the world has ever seen. Also, see the Sidewalks of Paradise Garden. Read a review of Norman Girardot’s enlightening exploration of Finster’s art and theology. Visit my archival Howard Finster page.
Continue readingCross and Snowflake Sculptures by Stanley Szwarc
At Intuit through Jan. 8, 2017 — Cross Purposes: Cross and Snowflake Sculptures by Stanley Szwarc, curated by Rich Bowen and William Swislow. Stanley Szwarc, a Polish book keeper turned metal worker and then artist after arriving in the United States, gave no indication of being particularly religious, but in his world crosses were powerful.
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The Sidewalks of Paradise Garden
Among the most stunning features of Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden in Summerville, Georgia, are its sidewalks. Some bear representational images of buildings, others are abstract aggregations of potsherds. Some bear text messages, others are virtual encyclopedias of Finster’s tools. These mosaic ribbons threading through the garden are a potent representation of how his creativity found expression in every aspect of the environment around him.
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Inside The Land of Pasaquan
Pasaquan, one of the world’s great art sites, lies tucked away in rural west central Georgia, near the little town of Buena Vista. Pasquan was the creation of Eddie Owens Martin, a local boy who went away to live the low life in New York City (by his own account), but came back and created a masterpiece. That Martin was a bit of a crackpot is hard to deny. A fortune-telling ex-street-hustler, he created a personal religion, enshrined himself as a saint and turned his family farm into a holy place. The strength of his vision is so great, though,
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A World in Salt & Pepper Shakers
Salt and pepper shakers pack concentrated meanings into tiny packages — miniature appliances, little foods, dwarf monuments, pint-size people, tiny bits of abstraction. They can be elegant or kitschy, modern or backward looking, but at best they resonate in a myriad of ways. Visit the Gallery
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