When he retired in 1948, Lumberjack Fred Smith began creating unique folk art on his property in Worchester, Wisconsin. He spent the next 16 years of his life sculpting figures of concrete, rock, and glass -- many depicting people and life in his community.
Today, Fred's Wisconsin Concrete Park is a Price County park and a non-profit organization, Friends of Fred Smith, works to maintain and restore the sculptures.
As one who appreciates both art and strange, I enjoyed our visit to Fred's village of concrete people. I enjoyed trying to guess who the figures depicted and what might have provoked Fred to create each one. According to Fred, "Nobody knows why I made these sculptures, even me. This work just came to me naturally. I started one day in 1948 and have been doing a few a year ever since." Fred couldn't explain why he did it. I can't quite explain why I liked it. Art doesn't necessarily have to have a tacit reason.
Go visit the Wisconsin Concrete Park.
