Paradise Garden, (sculpture).

Paradise Garden, (sculpture).

Finster, Howard, Rev., 1916-2001, sculptor.

Paradise Garden, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Concrete, cement, wood, painted or partially painted; tile, plastic, glass, vegetables, flowers; and found objects including hubcaps, bottles, marble pieces, mirror pieces, old signs, photos and memorabilia, lamp shades, tonsils, bicycles, ceramic shards, tools, coins, mugs, and dishes.

Approx. 2 acres.

A two acre folk art installation consisting of thousands of paintings, constructions, and outbuildings inspired by God and the Bible. The sculptures are made from objects gathered by the artist from junk piles and contributed by locals and visitors to the site, as well as other materials such as wood, concrete, and stone. The found objects consist of hubcaps, bottles, assorted memorabilia and photos, mirror pieces, old signs, lamp shades, a pair of tonsils, bicycles, ceramic shards, tools, coins, tiles, mugs, and other materials. The site also contains vegetables and flowers. Pathways wind throughout the garden.

Sculptures in the garden include: the Folk Art Church, an elaborately decorated, circular building with a wrap-around porch and a spire; National Rose Tower; Coin Man; Honeycomb Mountain, consisting of a mound embedded with mask-like faces; a giant Coca-Cola bottle, painted with people and words, resting on the porch of the Pump House; a cement mother and child; and a lion and a lamb. The walkways, some containing Biblical inscriptions, are composed of concrete inlaid with mirror fragments, coins, marble, tools, tiles, and glass.

A major feature of the garden are paintings of religious visions accompanied by graffiti-like messages and Bible passages. The paintings are executed with house or car paint on wooden boards or cement. Other sculptures include: Serpent of the Wilderness; the Lehigh Monument, a concrete mound inset with found objects and Lehigh memorabilia; grotto-like buildings housing art projects; Bicycle Tower, a pile of bicycles and bicycle parts; the Bible House; and a concrete garden wall reinforced with hubcaps and inset with photos (some cut from magazines) encased in plastic.

Religion -- New Testament

Religion -- Old Testament

Architecture -- Detail -- Walkway

Architecture -- Religious

Object -- Other -- Money

Figure -- Fragment -- Face

Animal -- Sheep

Animal -- Reptile -- Snake

Figure group -- Family -- Mother & Child

Outdoor Sculpture -- Georgia -- Pennville

Architectural component

Administered by Finster, Howard, Rev., Route 2, Box 106A, Summerville, Georgia 30747

Located Paradise Garden, Pennville, Georgia 30747

According to the artist, the garden came about when he asked the Lord, "is there anything else you want me to do besides pastoring? Well, just show me. So it come to me to build a paradise and decorate it with the Bible. I went to the dump and started picking up glass and molding bricks....I wanted to put every verse in the Bible in this park."

The garden was first called the "Plant Farm Museum" by the artist, but visitors retitled it "Paradise Garden." In 1976, Finster began adding visionary paintings executed with car paint to the garden. Reverend Finster has numbered each of his paintings and constructions, and they number in the thousands. In 1987, he met with Chattooga County officials to discuss his wish that Paradise Garden become a county-owned and operated park after his death. His major concern was that the garden be preserved for future generations.

For related reading see articles from the Wall Street Journal, July 2, 1986, pg. 1 and 6; and the Summerville News, Nov. 23, 1978, pg. 7B and Oct. 1, 1987, pg. 5B. IAS files contain articles from the Summerville News, July 9, 1987, pg. 1B and 8B; and Folklife Annual (1985), pg. 160.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Georgia survey, 1994.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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