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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 21 2008, 5:47 PM EDT (current) | abulhossain | 452 words deleted, 1 photo deleted |
| Jul 21 2006, 12:18 PM EDT | SouthernBelle | 59 words added, 1 photo added, 1 photo deleted |
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We are artistic folk here in the South. While plastic pink flamingoes might be our highest claim to fame, we have a whole lot of really cool art. We got really cool putt-putt golf courses that depict everything from Jurassic Park to scenes from the Bible. We got the Ten Commandments carved into a hillside. It’s not that unusual to see in somebody’s yard a dinosaur welded together from old tractor parts, or to see old shoes and boots nailed to the tops of fence posts, hubcaps nailed up to the side of a house, colored glass bottles hanging from a tree, or even the ubiquitous SEE ROCK CITY painted on top of peoples barns.
Sure we could probably paint a real pretty picture like that Monet or Van Gogh dude, but what’s the point? That just ain’t our style. It just ain’t cool enough for us. We like to make stuff out of whatever it is we have at hand. We like wickedly cool art, preferably stuff that has something to do with Jesus, ghosts, or Elvis. That’s our niche, Jesus and Elvis. Our great artists are folks like the Reverend Howard Finster, North Carolinian James Harold Jennings, or Virginian Wes Freed.
You have probably seen Finster’s work; he was in that Blackhawk video “That’s Just About Right” a few years ago. He painted an album cover for R.E.M., and another for the Talking Heads. Finster was prone to visions that told him he needed to do art for the Lord. Finster took them visions seriously and got to work. He completed tens of thousands of pieces of work prior to his death. Finster founded Paradise Gardens outside of Summerville GA, just south of Chattanooga TN. It’s a place that has to be seen to be believed. Everything there is a work of art. Since his death, Paradise Gardens has been turned into a museum.
In addition to Paradise Garden there is W. C. Rice’s Cross Garden—Hell’s Warning Label—near Prattville, AL, with its hundreds of hand-painted crossed with inspirational messages like Hell is Hot, Hot, Hot! and YOU”RE GONNA DIE! In Vicksburg MS, we got Margaret's Grocery and Market and Church, which is the coolest place on earth to stop off for a cold drink and a Moon Pie—as well as a quick brush up on salvation.
In Meridian, MS there is the world's only two row stationary Dentzel menagerie carousel. The Dentzel company is known for their beautifully hand craved carousels. The Meridian Dentzel carousel has been a part of the city since 1909. An outdoor public arts project pays homage to the beautiful Dentzel carousel by placing carousel horses around the town of Meridian.
