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WHAT ARE ART ENVIRONMENTS? Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens defines art environments as permanent large scale artworks that encompass an entire space and surround the viewer. Their creators often have no formal art training and use unusual materials to elaborately embellish their environments. Their work represents their extreme individualism and is influenced by personal experiences or mythologies. The artists’ devotion to their creations is often all-consuming and spans years or decades.

Oftentimes art environments are built on personal property, forgotten land, or in areas that were not meant to be creative sites. Although these spaces allow for numerous possibilities for artists to create their work, community misunderstanding or the inability for the artists to caretake their sites leaves these imaginative structures difficult to protect and conserve.

WHY ARE ART ENVIRONMENTS SO SPECIAL?

Why should we be striving, now more than ever, to be more curious, more unique? Creative spaces remind us there is beauty in the world, and they encourage us to generate more beauty. They offer an overwhelming sense of wonder and awe. They embolden us to think more deeply, connect with each other, and care.

The art environments featured in this exhibition illustrate unfiltered expression and unconventional thinking. These spaces challenged Isaiah Zagar’s own concepts of what art could be and inspired him to create an art environment of his own. Throughout Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens are the names of these artists and their environments, and the artwork in this exhibition by Isaiah further celebrates these spaces and how influential they still are to him.

“You’ll see not only joy, but sadness, anger – It’s not just eye candy; it’s all the emotions one could possibly have.”

– Isaiah Zagar on Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

Photos:  -“My Mirrored Hope,” Art Environment by Clarence Schmidt  -“Clarence Schmidt and his Silver Forest” by Isaiah Zagar

On display as part of “Visionary Voices” On view at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens until February 23, 2020

Jaither’s work references a range of themes: famous personalities, everyday individuals, varied geographies, eras, and other subjects of interest. These topics flow together and reveal his excitement for discovery and new experiences. Jaither has a passion for breakdancing and often sneaks his performances into his densely rendered pieces. From South Korea pop to B-Boy culture of the 80’s to the depiction of the people of Philadelphia, Jaither’s paintings inspire a curiosity and invite the viewer along on his journey of discovery.  

On view as part of “Visionary Voices” at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens until February 23, 2020.

“The pieces are narrative, but broken into fragments; their subjects, often women, recognizable but not exactly real. I wish to make something which invites many levels of interpretation, rather than dictating a single idea. In my pieces, backgrounds are often ambiguous. In this sense, the work is incomplete, purposely so, propelled outward as is, into the unknown.”

Susan Wallack creates brightly colored, mixed-media paintings influenced by African masks, Renaissance portraiture, and modernist collage artist Kurt Schwitters. Her work is a blend of textures and materials, utilizing pieces from magazine clippings with found objects to create her unique compositions. Her portraits draw inspiration from current events and then merge them with surrealism and fantasy.