Tag
Folk Art
The Painted Forest is the work of a relatively unknown itinerant painter, Ernest Hupeden. In exchange for room and board (and sometimes booze), Hupeden would paint murals on businesses, halls and other buildings. The Painted Forest, in the Modern Woodman… Continue Reading →
The fantastic new Art Preserve, created by the Kohler Foundation, is a continuation and culmination of their long-running work to preserve outsider art. The JM Kohler Art Center has displayed works of outsiders for decades. The Kohler foundation has preserved… Continue Reading →
The Hogarty Art House is a prime example of the sort of random spots creativity you find throughout Wisconsin. Like Fred Smith’s Concrete Park, numerous “outsider” art locations preserved by the Kohler Foundation, and Mary Nohl’s house, an artist felt… Continue Reading →
The entire world of decorative art is here. Fantastic and endlessly amazing.
See a most precious, vivid and wild imagination at work in its natural setting. An absolute delight to visit!
James Tellen, like many fellow Wisconsinites, was bitten by the cement bug and the desire to create large, lumpen pieces of art on his property. “Naive” is the kindest term for his work. Some pieces, like the one of Abraham… Continue Reading →
The first time we visited the JMKAC, a docent ran up and asked if I had seen the men’s room yet. An odd question to ask anyone, especially a woman. When I confessed that somehow I had missed it, she… Continue Reading →
Like the Rudolph Grotto, the Dickeyville Grotto was built by a Catholic priest and his congregation. Though smaller than the Rudolph Grotto, it is just as ambitious and intricately decorated. Even the birdhouse has gotten a going-over. Unlike other grottos,… Continue Reading →
Tucked away in a quiet neighborhood of Galena on West Street (unsurprisingly), is the West Street Sculpture Park. Artist and blacksmith John Martinson has covered his property with large-scale sculptures. The park is open to the public and you are… Continue Reading →
Spectacular Sculpture is one of the rarest of the rare – a magical, hidden, road-trip location tucked off the beaten track. Paul Bobrowitz has been making found art metal sculpture as a hobby since the late 80s. His property is… Continue Reading →
Pick up trails for the Kettle Moraine Natural Area and the Ice Age Trail in a parking lot off of Highway K outside of the tiny community of Monches. The trails are piney and pleasant, winding a bit and with… Continue Reading →
“Museum” is a bit of a grand title for the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts. This small building houses one large room for changing exhibits and a small gift shop. The quality of quilts displayed are varied –… Continue Reading →
Artist Mary Nohl has an out-sized reputation in Wisconsin. Lauded as an “outsider artist”, despite her Art Institute of Chicago degree, she has been demonized, vandalized, lauded and mocked. After her death, Nohl’s collection of whimsical yard art became the… Continue Reading →
What better way to spend your retirement than making massive, clever and whimsical sculptures for your yard? Clyde and Nancy Wynia have turned their property into an “efforts of amateur paleontologist [to]…excavate and recreate as best as possible the now… Continue Reading →
Paul and Matilda Wegner, immigrants from Germany, were so deeply impressed by the Dickeyville Grotto that they decided to create their own installations. From the late 1920s to mid-30s, they decorated the yard of the farm with wondrous creations –… Continue Reading →
Dr Evermor’s Forevertron is the world’s largest junk sculpture. It’s creator, Tom Every, a retired demolition expert, created The Forevertron to launch himself into the heavens. The Forevetron looms over the scrap metal yard, both delicate and massive. Parts include… Continue Reading →