Wouterina de Raad, Environment Builder

Last week, a friend organized a small-group tour of the garden and art environment created by Wouterina de Raad, a Dutch-Indonesian-American artist in western Wisconsin (www.concretemosaicsculpture.com).

I wasn't entirely sure where the work would fall along the line between kitsch and folk art (a malleable boundary, I admit), but once there, I was impressed with the range of de Raad's work, and her commitment to both her place and her vision.

As with any environment builder, it's hard to show the entirety of the space with photographs, so I recommend a tour if you can arrange one (she does them June–September).


This figure welcomes visitors. The close-up at right shows the bottle caps used in his pants.


These clothes line figures serve more than just the obvious function -- each one provides nooks for nesting birds.


The figure at right is quite tall. It's located adjacent to one of the many out buildings on the site.


The most beautiful building is de Raad's studio, where she also teaches classes.


I particularly liked de Raad's bird works, especially this one of a man interacting with crows as if they were pets. Other crows popped up in unexpected places throughout the environment. Each one includes shiny metallic tiles as well as darker ones, which I appreciated for its insight into the nature of crows and their love of shiny objects.


Another wonderful bird sculpture.


This sentinel guards a wooded area along one side of de Raad's house.


This redhead graces a table near the back corner of the site.

It's challenging to think about how de Raad fits into the tradition of Wisconsin environment builders. Unlike most (or maybe all) of the environment builders, she's not completely self-taught (she studied fine art in college), and she seems well aware of art as a marketable item. She teaches others her methods (albeit in a very generous manner). And in some ways, her beautiful, handmade studio has more in common with Martha Stewart than Tom Every.

But who is to say that folk artists can't be aware that their work and their methods have value? That an art space has to be messy? That the art has to involve welding together large pieces of metal or carving wood? There may be an inherent gender bias in the definitions running around in my head, since mosaic has lately become a women's medium, just like textile arts, which also struggle for artistic recognition.

Or maybe it's just the fact that all of the other Wisconsin concrete/mosaic sculptors are dead, which lends them an air of legitimacy.

I think de Raad's work and her complete environment place her squarely within her state's folk art tradition. It was exciting to see a living artist in her prime, and in her place.