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As one drives down the road today there is little to
distract the traveler from the monotony of the highway. But if you
take to the back roads and keep turning your head a lot, you will
sometimes see a special sight. Out of the corner of your eye, you may
notice the creatures that lurk in the recesses of the American
consciousness. Like surreal prophets of some alternate reality, they
beckon the passerby to stop and take a closer look. These sirens call
you with inaudible songs to step inside the store, stay at the motel,
or stop and have breakfast. But they also cry and beg to have some
attention for themselves. And they urge the artist to make their
portraits...
Suggested Readings:
On American Roadside Folk Art
Before the indignities of the modern era fell upon us, with
the standardization of the Industrial Revolution,
Americans relied on their own ingenuity to produce communicative
signs and sculptures. Now the home office sends the same sign to
thousands of stores nationwide. Once, each shopkeeper had a unique
vernacular visage to represent his or her establishment. Two
excellent books document this traditional art form.
If you would enjoy a light-hearted, succinct
exploration of this theme, try a quick romp through M.J. Gladstone’s A Carrot for a Nose: The Form of Folk
Sculpture on America’s City Streets and Country Roads. Its 72 pages are full of delightful
pictures and fascinating descriptions of everything from weathervanes
and whirligigs to trade signs and gravestones.
For a more in depth approach, you may prefer the
compendious coffee table book, American
Folk Sculpture by Robert Bishop. In nearly
400 heavily illustrated pages he covers all of the above subjects in
far more detail and with in depth captions and excellent
documentation. Bishop even includes a section devoted to the old
American favorite, the cigar store Indian.
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