The Genesis Project was an interdisciplinary artists’ colony launched by Ossabaw Island owner Sandy West in 1970.
It was centered at the site of an antebellum plantation known as Middle Place and was a starkly primitive affair.
Project members paid a nominal fee to be here and contributed a couple of days of manual labor per week.
The earliest participants constructed these utilitarian dwellings.
Abandoned since the early 1980s, they’re slowly going back to nature.
Constructed from derelict slave dwellings, the Uncle Remus Museum opened in Eatonton in 1963. Its location, Turner Park, was the boyhood homeplace of Joseph Sidney Turner, the inspiration for the “little boy” to whom “Uncle Remus” relayed all his critter stories in Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings (1880) and later works. Turner’s father, Joseph Addison Turner, owned Turnwold Plantation where Harris apprenticed as a teenager during the Civil War. A reconstructed blacksmith shop is also located in the park.
Carvings of many of the animal characters populate the grounds, which are a delight to walk around. These wood sculptures by Chris Lantz are a wonderful addition to the property. And forgive me if I confuse Bre’r Fox and Bre’r Wolf.
Bre’r Fox
Bre’r Wolf
Bre’r Bear
Bre’r Tarrypin
And last, but certainly not least, Bre’r Rabbit.
A statue, like the one on the Putnam County courthouse lawn, is also located on the grounds. It suffered a stolen ear and pipe a few years ago, but was restored.
Lincolnton Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The restoration of this false-front building incorporates folk art and commercial elements. It was likely a general store or warehouse.
A favorite with tourists and locals alike, Poole’s Bar-B-Q has become a world-famous attraction in the mountain town of East Ellijay. Oscar and Edna Poole opened the restaurant in 1989. It started in a roadside shack but now occupies this building, known as the “Taj-Ma-Hog”.
Pig cut-outs, arranged in the shape of a pig, adorn the hill behind the restaurant known as the “Pig Hill of Fame”.
Pig-related names abound.
The Pig Hill of Fame started with just 300 cut-outs but now features over 3000.
Poole’s Bar-B-Q probably doesn’t need to advertise, but these crazy cars do a good job. The pig kitsch is a lot of fun. Like the old saying of eating everything but the squeal, Poole’s uses decorative pigs in every possible way.
These are located just south of Cobbtown on Georgia Highway 57. The farmer appears to have been constructed of old fertilizer barrels.
When I was in Sparta to photograph the rededication of the Hancock County Courthouse, I met this gentleman. John “Johnny” Culver is a visionary artist who came back to his hometown of Sparta in 2000 after living in the Atlanta for a time. While there, he suffered a nervous breakdown at the age of 20, after a failed relationship. He told me that creating the art gave him the ability to come back from that and he was very clear that he was a believer and said “God gets all the credit”.
He works in paint and ink and on every imaginable surface. I also feel lucky, since he told me he does not usually allow photographs. I’m so glad we made a connection and that he placed the trust in me to share.
All Art Objects Pictured are © John Culver, Sparta, Georgia
At the other end of Main Street is the Houston Coin Laundry and another derelict storefront.
The window paintings are a nice feature.
I think this block of buildings has been abandoned for a long time.
I think the art was added to represent businesses which were once located here.
A pair of roosters, made of metal grating, were the highlights of an interesting yard.