On the front page of the New York Times Book Review, artist Red
Grooms once exclaimed that grassroots artists "are so interesting I
can scarcely keep them out of my dreams-visionaries who turned
their visions into art on a grand scale even though they had no
training in art." In this lavishly illustrated volume, the authors
illuminate and celebrate these "backyard visionaries" and the
remarkable works they've created in the Midwest.
Grassroots art (sometimes referred to as "outsider art") has
been variously described as "eccentric," "unschooled,"
"self-taught," "primitive," and "raw." Such art is characterized by
the use of common, unconventional, or castoff materials;
hodge-podge styles; ambitious scale; whimsical expression; and a
creative impulse concerned more with the artist's own pleasure than
with the critical reception of the work itself.
The authors here focus on examples of grassroots art
environments-which include sculptures, paintings, and
assemblages-in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma. They
reveal the special character and unexpected delights of works like
Samuel P. Dinsmoor's world-famous "Garden of Eden"; Claude Melton's
quirky "Nativity Rock Museum"; Ed Galloway's fabulous six-story
"Totem Pole" honoring Native Americans; and Dave Woods's
idiosyncratic creations refashioned from "junk that most people
would haul to the dump."
Written by members of the Kansas Grassroots Art Association-the
oldest organization in the country dedicated to preserving such
sites-Backyard Visionaries describes the authors' personal
experiences of the artists and their work as well as the artists'
cultural contexts and influences. More than 150 photographs-many in
color-capture their unusual creations, and a chapter on
preservation tells how we can help maintain them. All in all, this
is a fascinating tribute to a group of artists that we are only
just beginning to understand and appreciate.
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