Howard Finster:
Leave it to Pinterest to start me on an unexpected journey.
I use the site to pair interesting images with inspirational quotes for my Facebook Author Page. The quirky portrait, above, caught my eye, with cloud-like faces making the top half of the mans’ head, and lettering decorating the bottom half. I’d never seen anything quite like it. However the post had no indication of the artist’s name or a link– one thing I abhor about some Pinterest posts.
Who done it?
It took a quest on Twitter and the happy discovery of an amazing tool called reverse image search on Google to find Howard Finster.
And what a discovery Finster (1916 – 2001) turned out to be. For a man who never studied art, he produced a substantial body of creative work. A Baptist preacher in rural Georgia, he discovered art through a visionary interaction in 1976 with a smudge of paint that formed a human face. Apparently he had visions. God told him to paint “sacred art,” so he did.
Now, I’m naturally suspicious when it comes to visions. When it comes to religion, I’m fine with whatever gets you through the night, but I don’t necessarily want to hear about it. Yet Finster’s preachy art has a joyful art-for-art’s-sake quality that engages me.
As Matthew DeMarco writes about Finster’s work:
[It’s] an amalgam of nationalism, consumerism, religious zeal, prodigious factory-like output, genuine esteem for both Hollywood and the banjo, healthy doses of paranoia and absurdity, and an undying earnest showmanship. His work is crude, but polished and incredibly colorful. Perhaps it is ultimately the product of a sincere effort in what might not be the most capable of hands, though it is visually stunning nevertheless.
Subjects range, but misspelled Bible verses feature prominently, usually in all caps (note: He had only a 6th grade education). There are naked, groping, one-eyed devil children. There a lots and lots of presidents. Lots of Elvis portraits. Lots of family and friends, some embarrassing self-portraits. There’s a Coke bottle that simply talks about how everybody likes Coke…
Howard Finster: A Sometimes Beautiful Artist
Well-known for an outsider
Finster appeared in an Esquire magazine article that first dubbed his museum Paradise Garden. He began to appear on talk shows, such as Johnny Carson, often with his banjo. His first public exhibition appearance was in 1976, and he painted four paintings for the Library of Congress in 1977. Several of his art pieces are at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. He created album covers for R.E.M., Talking Heads (which was selected as album cover of the year, 1985, by Rolling Stone magazine), Memory Dean, Pierce Pettis, and Adam Again.
Howard Finster was responsible for introducing millions to outsider art, but even with his fame, he remained focused on religious outreach.
“You don’t have to be a perfect artist to work in art”
[Finster] encouraged people to discover their hidden talents. If they didn’t, he said, “it was just like takin’ a quart of milk and stickin’ it in the refrigerator and lettin’ it sit there till it spoils.” Smithsonian Art Museum https://americanart.si.edu/artist/howard-finster-1543
And he’s so right. Creativity doesn’t have to hinge on talent or education. You can create joyful art anytime, anywhere, anyhow. So what are you waiting for?
Thank you, Howard, for the inspiration.
Learn about Paradise Garden Foundation, whose mission is to preserve, maintain and showcase Rev. Howard Finster’s visionary artistic site
The Howard Finster Vision House Website showcases his art and the man himself.
Thank you for visiting!
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her multi-award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her poetry chapbook, Security