Sorehead Hill: Jesse Howard +Matthew Higgs +Scott Reeder
Jesse “Outlaw” Howard (1885–1983) lived most of his life in Fulton, Missouri, and was known for the large environment of painted signs he created there. His signs bear traces of his varied life experiences, including interpretations of biblical verse, commentary on local and national politicians, and his low opinion of vandals who stole his signs.
In 1977, the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) celebrated Howard’s artistry and his undaunted commitment to free speech. The Institute invited Howard to speak with students and to show his work during a celebration of “Jesse Howard Day.”
For more than 20 years, Higgs has shown consistent ways to supports artists, artist-groups, and curators, through his writing, interviews, curating, and teaching, as well as his reinvention and on-going development of White Columns as a space for people to experiment with the presentation of new ideas and work. For this exhibition, Higgs lent his expertise to reinvent Sorehead Hill.
The Artists
The Responders
This exhibition is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding was also provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Kohler Trust for the Arts and Education, Kohler Foundation, Inc., Herzfeld Foundation and Sargento Foods Inc. The Arts Center thanks its many members for their support of exhibitions and programs through the year. The John Michael Kohler Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) (nonprofit) organization; donations are tax deductible.
The Road Less Traveled 50th anniversary program was conceived by Amy Horst, deputy director for programming. The exhibitions series was organized and curated by Arts Center Curator Karen Patterson. Special thanks to Emily Schlemowitz, assistant curator, for the curation of Driftless: Nick Engelbert & Ernest Hüpeden and Folk & Fable: Levi Fisher Ames & Albert Zahn, and Amy Chaloupka, guest curator of The World in a Garden: Nek Chand and Volumes: Stella Waitzkin.
