What started as a pile of dirt, rubble and cement east of the Salton Sea in rural Neyland, California, eventually became one of the region’s most popular landmarks and roadside attractions. “Redemption Mountain,” a three-story mound built by Leonard Knight out of adobe and straw, is a brightly colored tribute to one man’s tenacity and desire to spread a message, topped by the instantly recognizable slogan “God is Love.”
“Redemption Mountain” is just one of countless artistic environments across the United States that showcase the unique style, drive, and language of creative builders. These self-taught artists, often driven by religious or spiritual fervor, use whatever materials are on hand, from recycled metal and concrete to rocks, shells, glass and more. For example, northern Wisconsin artist Fred Smith built a sprawling “Wisconsin Concrete Garden,” filled with figures and animals and decorated with beer bottle fragments and other found objects. Philadelphia’s Enchanted Garden is a visual cacophony of mosaics, passages, arches and niches made from a vast array of materials and knick-knacks.
Tra Publishing has a new book coming out soon called Architectural Fantasy: Artist-Constructed Environments Some of the most enduring examples of these rustic treasures have been documented – even if they now only exist in photographs. This vibrant book is created by Jo Farb Hernández, director emeritus of SPACES (Saving and Preserving the Arts and Cultural Environment), whose work revolves around documenting and preserving unique artist-built places.
This book collects decades of research and documentation, includes stunning photographs by Fred Scruton, and highlights the remarkable diversity of hand-built environments. Unfettered by academic or architectural conventions, these buildings range from castle-like houses to folk art churches to interstellar time travel machines – think Dr. Evermore’s Forevertron.
Thanks to enthusiasts and curators like Hernandez bringing attention to these unique creations, many have been carefully documented, cataloged, and preserved. Some have also been transferred (at least in part) to museums, such as the Art Sanctuary at the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Many of the buildings have been demolished, often after the owner-artist died or the family moved out of the property, while others have been lovingly maintained and open to the public.
Often categorized as “outsider art”, referring to work produced by self-taught individuals and containing a large amount of folk art, artist milieu is truly a genre of their own. Hernandez has long been critical of the brand. What it means is that the work is of less importance or value for study than other “higher” art forms such as academic painting and sculpture, ignores the fact that its creator improvised and worked by his own rules, and is fiercely independent.
Hernandez championed these individualistic works as enduring examples of the vast potential and wonder of the human imagination. “It’s remarkable how wide a range of outstanding examples of this work are and how one by one they push the well-worn and rather ancient boundaries of the art historical canon,” she said.
architectural fantasy It’s expected to release on April 14th, and you can pre-order it at the Colossal store. You might also like to explore the artist environments that are part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Artists Homes and Studios program. and visit Ricky Boscarino’s quirky hand-built home featured in the short documentary “Electric Garden.”
