Howard and The Book of Life 1988

This painted wood figure, ‘Howard and The Book of Life,’ was made by Howard Finster, a self-taught artist and Baptist minister, around 1988. Finster used found materials like wood scraps and house paint, transforming the mundane into vibrant expressions of his religious vision. The materiality of this work—rough-cut wood, bright primary colors—gives it an immediate, almost folk-art quality. The paint is applied directly, with minimal blending or shading, resulting in a bold, graphic impact. Finster's process was deeply connected to his life. He saw art-making as a form of preaching, using discarded materials to create something new and meaningful. He was part of a broader tradition of visionary artists who operated outside the mainstream art world, often engaging with the everyday realities of labor and faith. Finster’s work challenges traditional notions of art by blurring the boundaries between the sacred and the secular, the found and the formed, and the high and the low.