Paradise Garden, a site on the National Register of Historic Places in Summerville, Ga., contains the works of Howard Finster, a renowned folk artist.
I’ve written a little about Finster in the past for my work with AL.com because he was born in Valley Head, Ala. Click here to read that story. But until my trip with Sweetums to the Georgia mountains last week, I had never had the opportunity to visit his major creation, an outsider art installation he named Paradise Garden. Finster died in 2001 and the site is now open to the public for tours and maintained by the Paradise Garden Foundation.
The website explains, “At the age of 59 in 1976, Finster received a vision from God to create 5000 sacred works. After completing this number in 1985, Finster went on to produce over 46,991 works before his death in October 2001.”
The site explains Finster’s inspiration in his own words:
“One day I dipped my finger in some white paint and picked it up, and when I picked it up, it formed a face before I ever seen a face, and I turned it around to look and see if I had too much paint and there was two eyes, a mouth, a nose, and everything. A whole face. My finger looked like a face. And there was a feeling just came over me and said, “paint sacred art”. I said “Lord, I can’t paint. I don’t have no education in that”. So I took a dollar bill out of my wallet and started posing on the picture of George Washington. Some kids were around watching me work and that was the first time I felt I was an artist.”
Here are some of my photos from Paradise Garden, including a concrete coffin that contains the 200-year-old remains of an unknown teenage girl.
Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Inside the museum at Paradise Garden. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission Required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)The 200-year-old remains of an unknown teen girl at Paradise Gardens. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)The 200-year-old remains of an unknown teen girl at Paradise Gardens. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga., is the creation of folk artist Howard Finster, who died in 2001. The site is now a historic landmark open to the public. (Photo by Kelly Kazek | Permission required)
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