Making plans for the approaching weekend? Consider a visit to Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden, located at 200 North Lewis Street in Summerville, GA. It was once home to world-renowned folk artist Howard Finster and is now preserved by the Paradise Garden Foundation.
Finster had (and continues to have) an impact on pop culture, says Tina Cox, Executive Director of the Paradise Garden Foundation. His artwork for the Talking Heads album “Little Creatures” garnered accolades for Album Cover of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine in 1985. He had to make a correction to his original painting prior to the album’s release due to confusion about the band’s name, muses Cox.
Paradise Garden has been featured in music videos for REM and other artists. Finster had a cameo in REM’s video for the song “Radio Free Europe” in the early 1980s. Cox says that he was happy to be part of it, although he did not really know what a music video was.
Then there’s that time that Finster spoke on the phone with celebrated artist Andy Warhol. Cox recalls that Finster had no idea that he had been talking to Warhol.
Finster asserted that he was inspired by God to use his artwork and his garden to share the gospel with the world. He died in 2001, but remains a fixture in pop culture in places like New York City and here in Northwest Georgia, says Cox.
Learn more about Howard Finster, Paradise Garden, and the Paradise Garden Foundation at www.paradisegardenfoundation.org.
Howard Finster photo courtesy of the Paradise Garden Foundation
