Peter Jodacy, MI

Poking Fun

1884–1971

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Peter Jodacy, untitled (hunter, detail), c. 1950; wood, plaster, paint, mixed media.

A German-born Belgian, Peter Jodacy traveled the world looking for the ideal place to call home. That place ended up being the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he and his brother encouraged other Belgians to settle, initiating a small enclave. Jodacy and his wife had a 300-acre farmstead in an area that is still today largely wilderness. Though the details of Jodacy’s life are yet uncharted, he expressed some of his reflections on American culture in life-sized sculptures he made and arranged in his yard. Working in carved wood sheathed in a plaster mixture, painted, and adorned with artifacts from the Upper Peninsula, his works are humorous and visually alluring. The Arts Center has two rare works from this former yard tableau: a hunter and a stag.

Related Links

Exhibition: American Masterpieces

Further Reading

Publications: SUBLIME SPACES & VISIONARY WORLDS



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