Howard Finster
THE DEVIL AND HIS WIFE PLANS TO TAKE OVER THE WHOLE WORLD
Mixed media on wood
28 ¾ x 16 ¼ x 3 ½ inches
HF 69
HOWARD FINSTER
Man of Visions
Exhibition Dates: May 11 - June 29, 2018
VISIONARY SUPER-STAR
Claiming to have had religious visions as early as the age of two, Howard Finster (1916 - 2001) lived his entire life inspired by directives sent him from God. As an adult, he served as a Southern Baptist minister for 40 years. Yet, frustrated from preaching to impassive congregations, he retired. Moving from his small Alabama town to mid-state Georgia, Finster’s new vision was to be born out of his sideline occupation as a repairman. God’s directive to the now handyman/scrap collector was that he convert the acreage surrounding his repair shop to a sacred place. Heeding the command, Finster called it Paradise Garden. There, he began the rescue of all things most people might regard as garbage. Instead of preaching, Finster’s inspiration for spreading the word of God would now come through the creation of art; converting junk into paintings, sculpture, architecture; all of it proclaiming, metaphorically, physically and visually, the transformational power of his Lord God. Buildings, sidewalks, towers, his art infused efforts led to his formation of the World’s Folk Art Church, Inc.
Howard Finster became renowned for both his art and his “worlds beyond” perspective. Appearing occasionally as guest on Johnny Carson’s late night “The Tonight Show”, people became exposed to both his homespun humor and exotic visionary experiences. His influence also appealed to young hip audiences, including fans of rock groups like R.E.M. and The Talking Heads, as Finster was commissioned by these groups and others to design noteworthy album covers, converting an ever younger audience of believers and fans to become collectors of his work.
Finster’s appeal was not limited only to the young nor to the “pop” world, as he steadily gained important recognition by the serious art collecting world as well. Today his works can be found in numerous museums world-wide, including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Museum of American Folk Art, NY, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Museum of art, and in 1984, Howard Finster was selected to represent the United States of America in that year’s Venice Biennale.
Howard Finster (December 2, 1916 – October 22, 2001) was an American artist and Baptist minister from Georgia. He claimed to be inspired by God to spread the gospel through the design of his swampy land into Paradise Gardens, a folk art sculpture garden with over 46,000 pieces of art. His creations include outsider art, naïve art, and visionary art. Finster first came to widespread notice in the 1980s with his album cover designs for R.E.M. and Talking Heads.Early life
Finster was born at Valley Head, Alabama, and lived on the family farm as one of 13 children. He attended school from age six into the sixth grade. He said he had his first vision at three years old, when he saw his recently deceased sister Abbie Rose walking down out of the sky wearing a white gown. She told him, "Howard, you're gonna be a man of visions."
He became "born again" at a Baptist revival at the age of 13 and began to preach at 16. He gave the occasional sermon at local churches and wrote articles for the town newspaper, and became a full-time pastor at Rock Bridge Baptist Church in 1940. He later served at the Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Fort Payne, Alabama, shortly before venturing into full-time art.
