
2005
This documentary examines the life and art of Lonnie Holley, a self-taught African-American artist based in Birmingham, Alabama. It follows Holley as he builds a sculptural environment out of discarded materials and found objects in the Birmingham Museum of Art’s sculpture garden. His art is by turns profound, playful, and deeply moving. As the garden grows piece by piece, Holley is revealed as a man who has overcome a tortured past. Growing up poor and black in the 20th century American South, Holley worked to overcome prejudice and deprivation by using art to explore his life and ideas. The camera captures the artist’s process and reflections as he gathers materials, creates pieces, interacts with others, and relives the joys and sorrows that forged his unique and genuine artwork.

Lonnie Holley

Pinball Go to the Movies!

Robert Williams Mr. Bitchin'

The Steel Garden

Different Love

Margaret Kilgallen: Heroines

The Blind Storytellers

My Dad and the Volcano

Magical Universe

Paradise Garden: Howard Finster's Legacy

You Can't Squeeze Blood Out Of A Turnip

Finster

A Life on the Farm

Death Sounds a Quiet Gong

James Castle: Portrait of an Artist

Carving Thy Faith

It's The Same Story

Half Serious, Half Kidding

This World Is Not My Own

Joe Sleep

I Dreamed I Searched for You in Heaven