North Carolina
Vollis Simpson’s delicate balance of wind, gravity, monumentally, and whimsy was hidden away deep in the North Carolina countryside, but an Emerald City explosion would begin just as you approached that last turn in Wiggins Mill Road – and a sliver of sparkling fantasy began to show through. The full birds-flying, axles-squeaking, loggers-sawing, fans-whirring, guitarists-strumming, […]
Starting about 2010, Vollis Simpson’s sculptures began to be removed from their original locations in his ‘Whirligig Farm’ in Lucama to be restored in downtown Wilson, NC. Most have been re-installed in the nearby Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park: https://www.wilsonwhirligigpark.org/
A veteran of WWII, Vollis Simpson had a metal repair shop and a rigging business in Lucama, North Carolina. He had no background in art, but after retiring, he erected monumental metal whirligig sculptures out of recycled materials. Most of his sculptures have been restored and relocated to the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, […]
A veteran of WWII, Vollis Simpson had a metal repair shop and a rigging business in Lucama, North Carolina. He had no background in art, but after retiring, he erected monumental metal whirligig sculptures out of recycled materials. Most of his sculptures have been restored and relocated to the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
American roadside displays, off-beat curiosities, and yard shows.
American vernacular architecture and hand-painted decorations.
Since around 1996 Mary Paulsen has built a chapel and a series of small buildings out of wood and bottles to house her collection of 60’s pop culture and Coca-Cola memorabilia, as well as her own artworks.