Archives

Knight

One of the most famous American self-taught artists and art environments, Leonard Knight and Salvation Mountain appeared in documentaries and commercial movies such as Into the Wild (2007) and Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea (2004).

James Phillips

Since age ten, James Phillips had collected over 16,000 antlers. When he wasn’t hunting antlers in the spring and fall, he took daily trail walks and has authored three books of his observations. Jim is proud to have not purchased any, or killed any animal while amassing his antler collection. He found and manually carried-out […]

Roy Smith 2

Roy Smith lives in Royville without electricity or plumbing.  During the day he charges solar lights for nighttime use inside the van where he sleeps.   In the 1990’s Roy was featured on the television news program 20/20, and he won a racial bias law suite against the police department (in a different Colorado county).  […]

Roy Smith 1

Roy Smith lives in Royville without electricity or plumbing.  During the day he charges solar lights for nighttime use inside the van where he sleeps.   In the 1990’s Roy was featured on the television news program 20/20, and he won a racial bias law suite against the police department (in a different Colorado county).  […]

Melvin Gould

Pulsing flashes of sunlight from the westbound service road of I-80 approaching Cheyenne, Wyoming signal that Mel Gould’s exit (#370) is coming up. He purposely left the spinning silver duct pipe mounted atop his quonset hut workshop unpainted: on clear days a driver’s peripheral vision is likely to be caught by the stroboscopic sunbursts. A […]

Dominic ‘Cano’ Espinoza

  Twisted wire-formed letters near the top spell out “Jesus Cristo,” [slide 1] and sometimes when Dominic ‘Cano’ Espinoza “looks real close” at his castle, he can see the crucified face of Jesus looking back.  He built in no such anthropomorphic features, but to him the castle becomes an acheiropoieton – a massive, embossed metal […]

Portraits of ‘Outsider’ and Visionary Artists, 2019-

Often self-taught ‘artists’ don’t think of themselves as, or like to be called ‘artists’.  They may not produce any ‘for sale’ art objects, their work may be too personal, or it may be intended to carry religious messages from God (for which they accept no personal credit).  Many think of themselves as being too unskilled […]

Tim Anderson

Tim Anderson has built a unique environment of sculptures and sculptural buildings around his home in Roundup.  Please respect Tim’s privacy and unless invited, stay on public property when visiting. http://timslittlemansion.tripod.com/

Espinoza 2

An uninhabitable, monumental shrine, Espinoza started building the castle around 1980. He hauled the “regal” pink exterior wall stone out of the desert in nearby New Mexico, and covered much of the metal-sheathed surfaces with the circular ends of aluminum cans— earning him the nickname: “Cano.” “I just followed where one board ends, looking at […]

Espinoza 1

An uninhabitable, monumental shrine, Espinoza started building the castle around 1980. He hauled the “regal” pink exterior wall stone out of the desert in nearby New Mexico, and covered much of the metal-sheathed surfaces with the circular ends of aluminum cans— earning him the nickname: “Cano.” “I just followed where one board ends, looking at […]

Art Environments – West

Art environments are typically made by by artists working outside the mainstream of contemporary art.  Exposed to the weather and free for public viewing, the environments have little or no connection to the monetized art-object-based realm of galleries and museums.  Often the ‘artists’ don’t think of themselves as, or like to be called ‘artists’, their […]

Portraits of ‘Outsider’ and Visionary Artists, 2013-2018

Often self-taught ‘artists’ don’t think of themselves as, or like to be called ‘artists’.  They may not produce any ‘for sale’ art objects, their work may be too personal, or it may be intended to carry religious messages from God (for which they accept no personal credit).  Many think of themselves as being too unskilled […]

Portraits of ‘Outsider’ and Visionary Artists, 2005-2012

Often self-taught ‘artists’ don’t think of themselves as, or like to be called ‘artists’.  They may not produce any ‘for sale’ art objects, their work may be too personal, or it may be intended to carry religious messages from God (for which they accept no personal credit).  Many think of themselves as being too unskilled […]

Art Environments – Overview

Art environments are typically made by by artists working outside the mainstream of contemporary art.  Exposed to the weather and free for public viewing, the environments have little or no connection to the monetized art-object-based realm of galleries and museums.  Often the ‘artists’ don’t think of themselves as, or like to be called ‘artists’, their […]

Art Cars and Bikes

Art vehicles can be essentially a detachable extension of an art environment (Leonard Knight, Clarke Bedford, Jeff Elersic), an expression of personal biography (Billy Tripp, Melanie Harris), a cohesively themed idea (Harrod Blank), or a decorative extravaganza (Greg Phelps, Guy DeShazo).

Collections and Indoor Displays

James Phillips 50+ year collection of over 16,000 antlers.  Amad Samaan’s grocery store display of SX-70 Polaroids of his customers.  Johnnie Meier, as well as Tom and Mary Lou Desin’s collections of gas and oil memorabilia. Leon Parker’s as well as Mary Paulsen’s Coca-Cola collections, and Mary Paulsen’s small building full of 1960’s American pop […]

Grottos, Shrines, and Memorials

Dickeyville Grotto by Father Matthias Wernerus in Dickeyville, Wisconsin Rudolph Grotto by Father Philip Wagner in Rudolph, Wisconsin Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption by Father Paul Dobberstein in West Bend, Iowa St. Peters Rock Grotto by Father Scheier in Farmer, Noirth Dakota

Architecture

American vernacular architecture and hand-painted decorations. 

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