The Wisconsin Project: Biblical Gardens

23.8.14

Found: Christ Bearing Cross, Wisconsin Dells, WI

Found: CHRIST BEARING THE CROSS, One of many scenes at BIBLICAL GARDENS between Wisconsin Dells
and Lake Delton, Wis. on Hwy. 12. "And he bearing his cross went forth..." St. John 19:17. J2862
Photo by John A. Trumble. Published by DELLS PHOTO SERVICE, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.
Sun Johnson Printing Inc. Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Circa 1970s.

Found: SERMON ON THE MOUNTAIN. One of many scenes at
BIBLICAL GARDEN between Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton, Wis. on Hwy. 12.
"And seeing the multitude, he went up to the mountain...and taught them
saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
St. Matthew 5:1,2,3. D204 Photo by John A. Trumble.
Published by DELLS PHOTO SERVICE, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.
Sun Johnson Printing Inc. Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Circa 1970s.

Found: JESUS AND THE CHILDREN. One of many scenes at BIBLICAL GARDENS between Wisconsin Dells
and Lake Delton, Wis. on Hwy. 12. "Suffer the little children to come unto me, amd forbid them not:
for of such is the kingdom of God." St. Mark 10:14. D202 Photo by John A. Trumble.
Published by DELLS PHOTO SERVICE, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Circa 1970s.

Found: THE CRUCIFIXION. One of many scenes at BIBLICAL GARDENS
between Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton, Wis. on Hwy. 12.
"And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary,
there they crucified him..." St. Luke 23:33. J2862 Photo by John A. Trumble.
Published by DELLS PHOTO SERVICE, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.
Sun Johnson Printing Inc. Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Circa 1970s.

Found: In Biblical Gardens. Mrs. Eva Newsom, owner-artist of Biblical Gardens in
Wisconsin Dells, puts the finishing touches to this figure for the new "Ascension Scene.
There are 13 biblical scenes at the Dells attraction, all in a natural setting of ferns, pine, wild
and cultivated flowers. The Dells area is getting set for a big summer vacation season.
For a list of accommodations write Chamber of Commerce,
Dept. S-T, Wisconsin Dells, Wis 53965. Photo by John A. Trumble,
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Stamped Sun-Times April 5, 1970.

Wisconsin had a rich history of concrete Christian shrines leading up to to Biblical Gardens in Wisconsin Dells. The Dickeyville Grotto (built 1925-1930), Rudolph Grotto Gardens (built 1927-1983), and Necedeh Shrine (circa 1950s) commemorated aspects of biblical and Marian lore with concrete and obsession. Mrs. Eva Newsom constructed her vision starting in 1961 casting each biblical figure from people she knew around her in Dixon, Illinois. She left Dixon to set up and run Biblical Gardens with her husband in Wisconsin Dells where they owned land. The two-thirds scale statues she made weighed as much as 700 pounds. Painted to be as "lifelike" as possible, they were presented in a wooded Wisconsin setting. Photographer John A. Trumble captured the approximately 15 final vignettes, often with a keen eye for dappled light to create drama. He published them on postcards with Bible verses for tourist consumption. The Newsoms project seemed to reach a peak in the 1970s and they retired in 1980 with Biblical Gardens operating until 1997 when their land was sold. Mrs. Newsom wanted the statues to remain together and they did when the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod purchased them at auction in 1997 for $5,000. WELS announced plans to repair and restore them then placed them at their Camp Phillip summer Christian retreat center in Wautoma in April of 2014.

6.1.13

Found: The Crucifixion, Wisconsin Dells, WI

Found: The Crucifixion. One of the many scenes at Biblical Gardens
between Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton, Wisconsin on Highway 12....

"There they crucified him, and the malefactor, one on the right and one on the left.
Then said Jesus, Father,forgive them; for they know not what they do." St. Luke 23:33:34
published by Johnn Trumble photography, Wisconsin Dells, circa 1960s/1970s

THE WISCONSIN PROJECT

Our research-driven Wisconsin Project contemplates the rooted-ness and state-of-mind resulting from inhabiting a single place, our native Wisconsin, for a long time. Through critiquing postcard views both made and found, we learn a great deal about past and present Wisconsin. We began making postcard views of the places immediately around our studio and on our drives around Wisconsin in about 2008. We use the vintage postcard film format and print the cards in palladium and cyanotype. By communicating details of a specific place, seeming to register only marginally on the national radar, the project seeks to bring audiences into a Wisconsin mental space. Some in the art world would argue that the Midwest, particularly Wisconsin, makes for banal “fly over” subject matter. Our project challenges that by finding meaning in the ordinary and inviting audiences to examine, dialog, and reflect on the particular emotional quality of the idiosyncrasies of place and the perceptions of those both inside and outside of it. Sometimes distant memories are involved and a longing for a time now gone. Wisconsin’s glacier inflected landscape and proximity to the Great Lakes creates an exotic arena for living that informs our project. The life cycle plays out and rural and urban ruins serve as monuments to existences as people, places, and ideas surface then vanish. Ultimately, we aim to grapple with complex perceptions of Wisconsin ranging from nostalgic, romantic, and idealized--as depicted on myriad real photo postcard and standard tourist postcards--to mysterious, dark, and Gothic as conveyed in works of art and literature such as Michael Lesy's "Wisconsin Death Trip" book and Werner Herzog's "Stroszek" film. The project culminated in a residency with workshops and community collaborations and the installation "We Go From Where We Know" at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center 10.13.2013-3.7.2014 and later the Harvestore Bandshell for Fermentation Fest in 10.2014. The blog continues the exploration of postcards.