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Detail from African Village in America: This half acre of yard sculpture at 912 Nassau Ave SW, 2 miles from downtown Birmingham, Alabama, is a dramatic example of visionary self-taught art or a visionary environment. Joe Minter, a 65-year-old carpenter, explains that he had a revelation from God in 1989. He felt led to construct a monument to African American history rendered in found objects and house paint in his side yard. There are representations of African warriors watching their descendants’ struggles in Alabama; tributes to black scientists and military leaders; recreations of the epic civil rights confrontations in Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma; biblical scenes; a memorial to a little girl who was swept into a rain-swollen storm drain in 1999; and hand-lettered messages everywhere. In a piece on cultural self-criticism, Minter painted a series of street signs with names like ‘Self Hate Street,’ ‘Gang Warfare Street,’ and ‘Babies Having Babies Having Babies Self-Genocide Street.’ Visitors should knock on Minter’s front door before entering the side yard if his pickup truck is parked in the driveway; otherwise, they should view the art from the sidewalk.

own work

March 2000

Gary Bridgman

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