Kohler Conference — Day Two

Sheboygan, WI

The above video clip is a segment from the closing dinner, inspired by the environmental artists and was created by a group called “The Nana Projects” (Molly Ross and artists Annie Howe, Alison Heimstead, Elisabeth Roskos and Adam Krandle)  It was performed to music using 3 overhead projectors and acetate overlays.  Watching the artists switching overlays was like watching a great dance.  (Please forgive the quality of the video - it was shot in the dark with my digital camera) 

This is just a small snippet from the middle of the show.  It was awesome in the true sense of the word. You will see the art of Fred Smith’s Wisconsin Concrete Park (hunter and fiddler and head dress sculpture) then Dr. Evermor’s Forevertron (the crowd cheers when it blasts into space...his dream)  Hard to believe that this was all still art on acetate. 

Here are just a few more of the discussions from this day (trust me there was more great information shared than I could possibly process and share here): 

Wayne Cox: Errol McKenzie's Black Moon Island: Body of Darkness, Womb of Light
Quote from Errol McKenzie, “If I know the Universe, why do I need a university?”

Jeffrey Hayes: Paradise Lost: Reflections on the Impermanence of Vernacular Environments
Calvin and Ruby Black’s Gilded Bird Cage Theater at Possum Trot.  View the film ”Possum Trot: The Life and Work of Calvin Black, 1903-1972”

Daniel Franklin Ward Reflections on Broken Glass and Tile: Some Contexts and Controversies Regarding Sam Rodia's Watts Legacy 
it is believed that Simon Rodia built the Watts Towers to share something he knew as a boy in Nola, Italy...the Giglio Towers that were paraded through the streets in celebration of the Feast of San Paolino. The shape of the the land that the towers stand on is in the shape of a boat, and he had completed 7 of the 8 towers before he left.  

Tom Patterson: Social Roadblocks for Preserving Art Environments: St. Eddie Owens Martin's "Land of Pasaquan. 

Dr. Charles Smith and Dr. Henry Drewal on African-American art environments: myth and meaning 

Robert McCullough on Albert Zahn’s “Birds Park”