Fred Smith’s Concrete Park
Phillips, Wisconsin
Tavern owner Fred Smith used
concrete to memorialize a way of life that was disappearing from the north woods
of Wisconsin when he began his work in 1950.
Smith drew from his experience as a lumberjack to depict
over 200 larger-than-life images of loggers, farmers, and local people before a
stroke compelled him to stop in 1964.
To the left, one of Smith’s oversize lumberjacks stares at
the visitor. Smith used concrete sparsely
set with broken glass, with paint used to work out details.
For more on Fred Smith’s Concrete Part, click on the menu
item at left, or check out these web sites:
http://www.picklesisters.com/naives4.htm
http://interestingideas.com/roadside/wisc/fred/fredfish.htm
Text
and photos copyright, Susan A. Niles