Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Howard Finster: Word+Images=God

Howard Finster (American, 1916–2001) The Devil's Vice, 1985. Collection of Eleanor Dickinson

The Legion of Honor is usually associated with its signature European and ancient works of art, but through April 8, 2007, visitors will have the chance to experience the paintings of legendary "outsider artist" the Reverend Howard Finster (1916–2001). Known for his prolific output (he created over 46,000 works during the last 25 years of his life; that's 5 works per day), Finster operated a folk art garden museum dubbed Paradise Gardens in the back yard of his house in Pennville, Georgia, and received a command to paint sacred art through a vision in 1976.

Reverend Finster gained national attention by creating paintings for album covers by bands REM (Reckoning, 1984)), the Talking Heads (Little Creatures, 1986), and others.

The paintings on view at the Legion of Honor are from the collection of Finster's friend and fellow artist Eleanor Dickinson, and can be seen in the Reva and David Logan Gallery of Illustrated Books. (The exhibition opened somewhat earlier than planned, on October 7 rather than November 11.)

Posted by: Andrew Fox | October 24 at 4:42:49 PM
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