Cleaning Up After the Gamesc. 2003117 x 28 x 14 " (297.2 x 71.1 x 35.6 cm)Plastic bottle, metal dustpan, cloth, and found materials suspended in a metal-wire armatureGift of Ron and June Shelp2013.5.701551194552Lonnie HolleySculpture© Artist Rights Society (ARS), New YorkUnited StatesAlabamaThree Dimensional WorksAdam ReichObject information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org
Improvisation and experimentation are words frequently used to describe the multifaceted creative life of Lonnie Holley. The Alabama-based artist is well known for his work in music and performance as well as visual art—drawing, painting, lens-based media, and sculpture. Untitled (before 2006) is emblematic of Holley’s sculptural oeuvre. Comprised of found and modified materials in the tradition of African American sculpture, this hanging totem pays homage to Holley’s environment. The assemblage of everyday objects speaks to the landscape in which it was created and, upon closer examination, the piece reveals a veritable community—silhouettes of faces crafted in a single fluid line of metal that peer out, delicately perforating the column of roughhewn components.
Since 1979, Holley has devoted himself fully to his creative practice and, by the mid-1980s, he had transformed his yard and an adjacent abandoned lot into an immersive sculptural environment that was celebrated by visitors worldwide. Holley has since relocated his home and studio to Harpersville, Alabama, his project continues—the assemblage environment continues to flourish, and smaller related pieces such as Untitled are sold as autonomous artworks but always connected to the greater whole. Holley’s aesthetic and intention are distinctively his own—whether manifest visually or through spoken word. According to Holley, his "art and music, born out of struggle, hardship, but perhaps more importantly, out of furious curiosity and biological necessity." Curator Valerie Rousseau writes that, at its core, Holley’s work encompasses two objectives: to take care of nature by recycling everyday detritus; and to take care of human relationships by cultivating a beautiful, inspiring space for his community.19982008 2013 5 7 Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org
Improvisation and experimentation are words frequently used to describe the multifaceted creative life of Lonnie Holley. The Alabama-based artist is well known for his work in music and performance as well as visual art—drawing, painting, lens-based media, and sculpture. Untitled (before 2006) is emblematic of Holley’s sculptural oeuvre. Comprised of found and modified materials in the tradition of African American sculpture, this hanging totem pays homage to Holley’s environment. The assemblage of everyday objects speaks to the landscape in which it was created and, upon closer examination, the piece reveals a veritable community—silhouettes of faces crafted in a single fluid line of metal that peer out, delicately perforating the column of roughhewn components.
Since 1979, Holley has devoted himself fully to his creative practice and, by the mid-1980s, he had transformed his yard and an adjacent abandoned lot into an immersive sculptural environment that was celebrated by visitors worldwide. Holley has since relocated his home and studio to Harpersville, Alabama, his project continues—the assemblage environment continues to flourish, and smaller related pieces such as Untitled are sold as autonomous artworks but always connected to the greater whole. Holley’s aesthetic and intention are distinctively his own—whether manifest visually or through spoken word. According to Holley, his "art and music, born out of struggle, hardship, but perhaps more importantly, out of furious curiosity and biological necessity." Curator Valerie Rousseau writes that, at its core, Holley’s work encompasses two objectives: to take care of nature by recycling everyday detritus; and to take care of human relationships by cultivating a beautiful, inspiring space for his community.