ALL PEOPLE ARE ME: New and Classic Work From Creative Growth Art Center August 12 - October 8, 2005 In her feature article on Donald Mitchell in Issue #42 of RAW VISION magazine, Cheryl Rivers PhD described Creative Growth as "the gold standard of institutions of its kind." Several of Creative Growth's artists have become giants in the field of Outsider Art -- Dwight Mackintosh, Donald Mitchell, and Judith Scott all have work in the world's leading museums of Art Brut and Outsider Art. We are grateful to Creative Growth for the opportunity to show these three masters as well as six other great artists from their magnificent program. In preparation for ALL PEOPLE ARE ME, I spent a memorable day at Creative Growth touring the impressive facilities with Tom di Maria, their executive director, observing the artists at work, and combing through the archives to find the "best" pieces to bring back to HEADFOOTERS. I will never forget the thrill of watching Dan Miller and Donald Mitchell sitting together at a work table as they put the first marks on their blank sheets of paper. I returned, periodically, to see their progress and hours later they had each created another masterpiece. Imagine, watching over Picasso's shoulder as he he sketched at the bullfights! Another thrill, though of a different kind, came when Tom showed me the "Judith Room" where all of Judith Scott's work is stored. Judith had just passed away a few month's earlier, and her absence was a palpable presence everywhere in the building, but, especially in this dim, crowded room. Her life's work -- all that is not in some fabulous museum or private collection -- was in this space. Mysterious cocoons, shrouded in plastic, each of these objects seem to hold a piece of the secret that was Judith. Thank you to Tom and Jennifer for choosing to let Headfooters be the first gallery to exhibit her work since her death. We feel honored. Please take notice of a few new artists on the site. David Mull's miniature fantasy cityscapes have been called "warped by the gravity of obsession" (Douglas Max Utter, Ar'te-Fakt (vol. 4, Issue 11). Earl Hamilton's strange cartoons on business envelopes show a cast of recurring New Orleans characters surrounded by a flurry of even stranger text and punctuation marks. Many new pieces have been added to other ARTIST pages as well. Again, thanks for your support, and sorry it has been so long between updates.  
2004 was a great year at Headfooters. After a long, cold Cleveland winter, we warmed thing up with The Artists of Gugging. Our show of these art brut masters garnered a great deal of attention. We would like to thank Lyz Bly, Douglas Max Utter, Amy Sparks, and Dee Perry. for their kind attention. We would also like to thank everyone at the House of Artists, especially Nina Katschnig, the gallery director, for all their assistance, and for allowing us the opportunity to share the incomparable work of The Artists of Gugging.
This summer we exhibited the two great Cleveland artists Rev. Albert Wagner and Michelangelo Lovelace. The opening reception on a beautiful August night was a blast. Well over a hundred fans attended, and most came early and stayed late. Both artists attended. Sales were strong. And the gallery never looked better. This is an exciting time for Rev. Wagner. The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) has just purchased his masterpiece, "the Parting of the Red Sea", for their permanent collection. It and another great Rev. Wagner piece, "Noah and the Rainbow", will be feature in AVAM's upcoming exhibition, HOLY H2O (October 04 - September 05). Nobody deserves a permanent place in this great museum more than Albert. Congrats, Reverend! We are finishing the year strong with our exhibition of four of our favorite Outsiders. For AFFIRMATIONS - APPARITIONS - DIARIES & DREAMS, we have put together the uniquely personal work of Daniel Belardinelli, Alexandra Huber, Ian Pyper and Stephen Tompkins. Given the honesty, directness, and pure power of the work, the show can't help but be a stunner. Visit headfooters and check it out.
Next stop on the "Headfooters' Express" was Vienna. We can still feel the heat--95 degrees Fahrenheit! In spite of the heat, and the hour and a half commute, our visit to The Artist House at the Gugging mental hospital remains, for me, the most amazing day of the trip. We spent four hours at the Artist House with the Gugging Gallery Director, Nina Katschnig. We got to visit with several of the remarkable artists there, including Johan Garber (he gave Emma a sponge as a gift), Johan Kerek, Gunter Schutzenhofer, and Oswald Tschirtner(we watched discreetly, as he gave his teeth a thorough brushing after lunch -- like watching Babe Ruth clip his toe nails!). We are happy to say that, along with our memories, we left Gugging with a contract, and should begin showing the Artists of Gugging in 2004.
With the end of our tour in sight, we headed for Cologne to visit our friend and fellow gallery owner, Dieter Lange at his magnificent home/gallery outside of Cologne. We talked shop while touring the grounds of his amazing place, which is the fabulously restored old Wasserwerk (water pump station). Like all the people we met on our trip, Dieter was so generous and hospitable (but, he did drive a bit fast!). And so, on to Paris for four terrific days of sight-seeing (including a great afternoon at the Pompidou), and then home to the gallery to get back to work. Enjoy hopping around our website. Be sure to check out the What Is Outsider Art? section by clicking at the bottom right of any page. There you will find a guide to resources that are concerned with the ongoing discussion of outsider art. The field is a broad one. Its very definition is under constant debate. The term "outsider art" itself is tenuous -- some favor "self-taught" or "marginal art" and the Europeans favor Debuffet's term "art brut." Even if you don't find the discussion fascinating, we bet you'll love the pictures. If you are curious about how we came up with our name and logo, click About Headfooters for the full story. And please join our mailing list so that we can get you announcements of upcoming shows and events and contact you about exciting new acquisitions. Thanks again for stopping by the web site. See you around the gallery, -- Bill & Dallas |
John Martin at Work in The CGAC Studio
Dan Miller (white helmet) and Donald Mitchell (black shirt) and Tom Di Maria (standing)
