On Saturday, April 2, from
9:30 am to 1:30 pm, ARLIS conference attendees have a chance to see
the Orange Show and go on a Houston Eye-Opener tour for the bargain price of
$50.00. (Refreshments
included!) For those of you who are
not familiar with the Orange Show, it is the creation of retired postman Jeff
McKissack in honor of his favorite fruit.
(http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/TXHOUorange.html)
Working from 1956 until his death
in 1980, McKissack used found objects and common building materials to create a
maze of walkways, balconies, arenas, and exhibits decorated with mosaics and
brightly painted iron figures. The
site is operated by the Orange
Show
Center for Visionary Art (http://www.orangeshow.org), a non-profit
organization dedicated to preserving and presenting works of extraordinary
imagination.
The Beer Can House (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/TXHOUbeer.html)
is also owned and maintained by the
Orange
Show
Center for Visionary Art and will be
included in our special Eye-Opener Tour.
John Milkovisch claimed to have drunk the beer from every can that he
used to festoon his modest bungalow.
He flattened beer cans to make decorative aluminum siding, and strung
thousands of pull tabs to make long streamers to hang from the eaves. The result is a shimmering fantasy that
will make you marvel.
Our tour guide will be
Houston architect and visionary art
expert Larry Harris, alias NarrowLarry.
(http://www.narrowlarry.com) His Web site includes images of
visionary folk art environments all around the country.
As art librarians, however, we
are well aware that photographs cannot equal the experience of actually seeing
art works in person, so, plan on joining the group on April 2 at the Orange Show
and the Houston Eye-Opener Tour!
If you have already registered
for the conference and want to sign up for the Orange Show tour now, email Susan
Rawlyk at [log in to unmask]. If you have questions about the tour, please
contact me at the email address or phone number given below.