Chauvin Sculpture Garden Is One Of The Strangest Places You Can Go In Louisiana
By J.B. VanDyke|Published October 30, 2020
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J.B. VanDyke
Author
J.B. Weisenfels has lived in rural Arkansas for three decades. She is a writer, a mom, and a graduate student. She is also an avid collector of tacky fish whatnots, slightly chipped teapots, and other old things. In her spare time she enjoys driving to the nearest creek to sit a while. If you were to visit her, she'd try to feed you cornbread.
We all know one thing for sure: there are plenty of ways to get your weird on here in Louisiana. There is one bayou country wonder that surpasses them all when it comes to the strange and peculiar—Chauvin Sculpture Garden is located about two hours south of Baton Rouge, on a property that backs up to Bayou Petit Caillou in the small coastal community of Chauvin. What’s up with the 100 life-sized figures in the sculpture garden? This folk art garden is one of the strangest places on earth. Let’s take a look around:
Right when you arrive, it’s obvious that you’ve really come to a place unlike any other in the world.
Though the sculpture garden is open to the public now, it did not begin as a public space. The lot was once the home of an enigmatic figure named Kenny Hill.
Hill, a bricklayer, built himself a small brick house on the lot, and after he was done . . . he just kept on building and building figures around the property.
Sadly, Mr. Hill was evicted from the property for failing to maintain it. People often wonder about the visionary artist who created this unique space, but not much is known about him.
After Kenny Hill’s eviction, the Kohler Foundation bought the property and preserved the work for the public. They built a welcome center across the street and created an open air event space, too. Then they donated the whole of it to Nicholls State University.
The sculpture garden hosts the Chauvin Folk Art Festival, which is a cool way to experience it, but there’s something to be said for wandering around to admire the haunting sculptures on your own. The garden is open every day from sunrise to sunset.
If you’ve been wondering this entire time when I was going to tell you what the sculptures mean, I’m sorry about that. Kenny Hill has said that he wants the viewers to come up with their own interpretations of his work. So perhaps we should all be asking ourselves what they mean.
Find more information about the origins of the Chauvin sculpture garden at this link.
So, what do you think about Kenny Hill and his Chauvin Sculpture Garden? How would you feel if your neighbor started working on one? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
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