Sunday, December 11, 2011

Outsider Art


Outsider art, quirky, creative, unusual -
all of these words could be used to describe the 
Wisconsin Concrete Park in Phillips, WI.



Retired lumberjack, Fred Smith (1886 - 1976) was the mastermind
 behind this menagerie of 237 concrete sculptures.




A "green" artist ahead of his time,
 Fred used shells, glass shards, beer bottles from his tavern - The Rock Garden Tavern, 
and other junk art materials to create a cast of historical characters.



You'll find larger than life cowboys, miners, Indians,
soliders, horses, oxen, wild animals, and gigantic fish
standing against the backdrop of a pine forest.






Built over a period of 14 years,
 this self-taught sculptor said of his obsession,
"It's Gotta Be In Ya to Do It".

As they say in northern Wisconsin,
"Yeah Ya Betcha!"


Wishing you a Blessed Holiday Season
and a wildly creative New Year!!!

I'll be taking a holiday break......
see you on Monday, January 2, 2012!


34 comments:

  1. Wow! These works of art are very unique indeed!

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  2. I love when people create, in spite of anything- the surroundings, the education or the time... Thank you for letting us see it!

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  3. Anna, this is wonderful!!
    These are truly amazing works of art, and I cannot even begin to imagine all of the work that went into them. I just love the second one here.

    Thank you so much for sharing today at The Creative Exchange.

    Have a wonderful day!

    lisa.
    P.S. Your new blog header is AMAZING!! Just gorgeous.

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  4. Wonderful sculptures and your beautiful documentation. Thank you very much for sharing this with us.
    Have a nice new week, Anna.

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  5. anna, these are so wonderful, and the snow makes them even more compelling. happy holidays to you!

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  6. Very unique, and the layer of the snow makes everything quite whimsical.

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  7. How incredible!
    I love the contrast of the colour against the white snow.. jewels.

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  8. These are incredible!! Who'd of ever thought of 'concrete art'..but it's so wonderful and effective. Thank-you for this tour!!!

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  9. What fascinating sculptures! I love them!

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  10. hmmm, I'm thinking this is something in my home state that I'll put on my list to go see...sometime! I love the SNOW, I'm still waiting for it to fall here in my backyard. we may not get a white Christmas this year, how odd is that? I love your photos of the sculpture garden, especially the one of the weathered faces. and the turquoise bottles. the last one is heart-stopping. thanks for sharing, and I hope you have a beautiful holiday with your family. take good care now, and see you when you return. {{{hugs}}}

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  11. This is wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  12. I love art with a sense of humor..wonderful...

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  13. Visiting from the Creative Exchange. WOW...this is so very interesting and unique! I love it! T hanks for sharing and so glad I found you :)

    Kathy

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  14. Oh, Anna, these sculptures are all so fascinating! Thanks for sharing! :)
    Enjoy your blog break, have a lovely Holiday Season with your family and a prosperous start of the year 2012! :)

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  15. These sculptures are such fun! Thanks for sharing them with us.

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  16. This is one fabulous series. My, oh my, how I would love to see them in person. The snow just adds the most perfect touch. How in the world had he done this? He is one amazing artist and appears to be pretty humble and matter-of-fact about his accomplishment. Your captures are wonderful. Thanks for sharing. genie

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  17. Wow, the color and clarity in these photos is amazing. And it looks too COLD!!!!
    Have a wonderful break and Happy Holidays!
    xo
    lynn

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  18. Amazing treasures. Quirky is an excellent description.

    Enjoy your break, Anna. See you next year. :)

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  19. that looks like a cool place. i love how the snow is laying on all the sculptures. have a wonderful holiday. see you in the new year.

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  20. oh wow...now that is something. I wish you a wonderful New Year as well. And I look forward to seeing your beautiful works of art in 2012!

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  21. Wow! What a great talent to make something look so peculiar.

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  22. Oh, how wonderful work of art collections. Absolutely i loved this.

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  23. That touch of snow in all the right places, makes this even more of a phenomenon. It somehow links the sculptures with the surrounding woodland in a very satisfying way.
    Nature and art combined.
    This is where the lightbox shines: a great showcase for your superb photographs.

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  24. That looks like such an interesting place. And great photos to make me want to see it even more.

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  25. What I wouldn't give to have his kind of passion - and follow through. Amazing

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  26. I've never been there....looks much more interesting than I originally thought! Merry Christmas Anna and family!!

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  27. thank you so much for the postcards from Sharing our Holidays. love them. hope you enjoyed my photo swap too. wishing you an awesome 2012. xxo

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  28. happy holiday .. this was a lovely place to "walk" with you today ...wishing you a wonder filled new year!!

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  29. Hello Anna
    Happy Holidays...what a lovely post you have shared...

    thank you for linking to SS... xo, Kim

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  30. I'm just getting caught up on blogs I read for the month - what an amazing find you had! And what a great opportunity for some amazing shots. Love these!

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  31. Just browsing through your blog and think these are lovely! You have done a very nice job on these!

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