The Art of The Southern African American Garden of the Past

There has been a book published recently about the gardens about black families of the South and their gardens. I saw the reference briefly and will need to go back and look it up for you, but it reminded me of these photo's I took in New Orleans. This was a small garden outside a restaurant near the 9th ward that was so devastated by hurricane Katrina. I love the garden for its naiveness and honesty. As an artist I am enamored when people with no art background are creative in their everyday life. I am not sure if this was meant to be a version of a black saint as St. Fransis of Assi, or another religious figure. I love the contrast, the almost reverse image of face and hair, the bright colors that seem to call from the Islands. But I just love people wanting

to be creative. Naive art, outsider art, primitive art-what ever we may call it, is the human spirit wanting to create with what ever skills they have.

The African American Gardens of the past often had any objects that could be found easily in the immediate environment and then utilized into the garden whether it be an old paint bucket, a used black rubber tire, or a piece of this or that. These were families who had little and made something from the little they had. However I think the influence from African and the Islands many of these people originated from. As a child of the South I remember these gardens well, but had not thought about their influence and uniqueness until I happened upon the reference to this book. I look forward to tracking it down and sharing it with you.