Joe Minter, His Vision Of The Oil Spill, & His New Show

Yesterday I went and visited with Hilda and Joe Minter for a while; I had something I thought Joe could possibly use for his sculptures and when I got there, he showed me a piece inside his home that he made with some bottlecaps I had brought over earlier this year – this face with the bottlecaps + chain for hair + Coke bottles and case:

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Well, Joe makes tribute or memorial vignettes in his art environment (African Village in America) and I was certain he had done something about the oil disaster. Sure enough:

Joe Minter 062210

It reads,

“B.P. Stop
The End
Offshore Drilling
How Today
Oil In Our Water
G-d Forgive Us
Save Us 2010″.

Here on the right is the barrel plus a black tarp to represent the oil and all the animals representing all the suffering of marine life:

Joe Minter 062210

The left has a representation of the drilling rig. Joe adds a couple of plastic bottles with a mixture added to reinforce that oil and water literally don’t mix:

Joe Minter 062210
Afterwards, we just talked and walked around; I had never noticed these oxen before (you could come here every day for a month and see something new each time):
Joe Minter 062210

Here’s Moses with his staff, “Let My People Go” and wearing broken chains with locks at the bottom:

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Some of my favorite pics taken previously:
Joe Minter's African Village in America Art Environment, Birmingham AL

Joe Minter's African Village in America Art Environment, Birmingham AL

Joe Minter's African Village In America, Birmingham Al
We later started talking about the show that’s opening this weekend at the Hoover Public Library. This is one of the smaller pieces that will be on display for sale – an airplane:

Joe Minter 062210

One piece that won’t be at the library but he would love for more people to be able to view is this crucifix:

Joe Minter 062210
Joe loves visitors; you can drop by to see him at the end of Nassau Avenue SW in Birmingham. If his truck is in the driveway, it’s a good sign that you can get a tour.
The reception for Joe and Hilda is this Sunday, June 27 from 3p-5p at the Plaza Art Gallery and Reading Garden at the Hoover Public Library. The show will go through Saturday, July 31.
A set of my pics of Joe’s art environment over the past several years is here on Flickr.

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