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Spiritual American trash : portraits from the margins of art and faith

Title
Spiritual American trash : portraits from the margins of art and faith / Greg Bottoms ; illustrated by W. David Powell.
ISBN
9781619020597 (pbk.)
1619020599 (pbk.)
Publication
Berkeley : Counterpoint Press, [2013]
Physical Description
220 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm
Summary
"In Spiritual American Trash, Greg Bottoms goes beyond the examination of eight "outsider artists" and inhabits the spirit of their work and stories in engaging vignettes. From the janitor who created a holy throne room out of scraps in a garage, to the lonely wartime mother who filled her home with driftwood replicas of Bible scenes, Bottoms illustrates the peculiar grace in madness. Using facts as scaffolding he constructs intimate narratives around each artist, painting their poor and difficult circumstances on the outskirts of American society and demonstrating struggle's influence on their largely undiscovered art. Both mournful and celebratory, these profiles embrace these compulsive creators with empathy and visceral sensory details. Each sentence reads with the cadence of a preacher who engages the art of the spirit and passion that often strays into obsession. Raised in the working-class South as a devout Christian with a deeply troubled brother, Bottoms understands how these eight outsiders made art for a higher power and for themselves."--Provided by publisher.
Format
Books
Language
English
Added to Catalog
May 29, 2013
Citation

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