#clarence schmidt

[lisamarie-vee]

[werkboileddown]

[lukegauthier]

[realismoutopico]

Clarence Schmidt / House of Mirrors / 1940-1968 / Image © Beryl Sokoloff / via Spaces / Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

[cybernarcissus]

clarence schmidt's house of mirrors in woodstock, new york

Asked by visitors how long he had been working on the five-acre site of his Ohayo Mountain environment, Clarence Schmidt would inevitably reply, “half a century.” In that time he completed the construction of two houses, drywall terracing and planting of the sloped mountainside, and countless shrines and grottoes. Schmidt’s major work was accomplished between 1948 and 1971, the shorter period determined by at least two fires, miscalculations of structural loads, environmental exigencies, personal health and age. This fact does not destroy the “legendary aspect” of Schmidt and his work; instead it reveals how remarkable and prolific he was. 

“I started. God, I don't know where I started. I’m moved to tears to think I can still do it.” (1967)

[jadonulrich]

Isaiah Zagar Clarence Schmidt and Friends, 1976 Mixed-media collage on paper 15 × 18 in

[lukegauthier]

[lukegauthier]