Howard Finster show: TPAC
One of my pictures of Howard, at Paradise Gardens. Cropped detail of part of a Widelux frame, hand colored (with Marshall Oils), by Tania Owen.
Today was the final day for the Finster show; I had to get up there and pay my respects. As it turned out, the show was a massive collection of his work. I was overwhelmed by the volume. He must have painted every single night, after getting his spiritual calling.
When I was younger, I shot the pictures for a paper company promotion that Buddy Jackson was working on. We ended up renting a giant car and traveling across the south, looking for eccentric characters. There were four of us: Buddy Jackson, the AD; Mike Nolan, the copywriter; Paul Vozdic, my assistant at the time; and myself. I’m shocked that it all fell into place; I don’t think we really called ahead to any of the places. We just showed up and knocked on the door. Bessie Harvey in Knoxville; Howard Finster in Summerville GA; BF Perkins in Prattville GA; a fanatical preacher somewhere; Mose T in Montgomery; Jimmy Lee Sudduth in Fayetteville, Georgia; and a snake-handling Pentecostal preacher, somewhere south of Columbia, TN. Great memories. We were fine all week in the car, until I decided to bring up the topic of religion, with Mike Nolan, and then I turned into a total dick; I guess I need to add Mike to my Amends List. I’ll always feel bad about that.
Not sure what is left of the Finster operation any longer.
Front Cover of the paper promotion for Mead Paper
My picture of Jimmy Lee Sudduth, on his front porch. (Pardon the CMYK rough scan). See video below, of Jimmy Lee on harmonica.
Detail of frame of "Snake Handling Preacher". (We rolled down the window of the rental car, just enough to stick the lens thru the crack. The preacher brought the snake up to the 24mm lens, which was, uh, really close to me). Pardon the scan.
(From the book): Clark Byers spent his life driving across the south, painting the SEE ROCK CITY barns. If you ever saw one of the barns, Clark Byers painted it. (He also grazed buffalo).
Shot today with my iPhone, of Howard's "artist statement", at TPAC.
Below are some random YouTube videos that I located on these artists that we visited. This first video below is similar to how we experienced Howard — we just walked in, and there he was working, and he started preaching to us, just like this. My advice: make about four cups of strong coffee, and then turn the volume up loud on your computer, and then listen to this first video about three times, over and over. That was the feeling of being there with Howard — very “in your face”.
Nice collection of videos. The images you came back with from that trip were amazing. I felt like I was there with you all after I saw them. Very inspiring… the artists, the stories, and the images that told the stories.
I wish I could see the Finster show, I’ll miss that. I’ll spend some time today looking at the details in my Finster art, and remember those photos from your trip. I’ll think of Finster when I go see DeKooning at MOMA, and stop to view the local street art. Perhaps I missed his message on religion, Finster is one of the greatest artists of our century and has my respect.