Way, way up north, near the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, is one of the most unusual and unique places you will find in the whole country, much less Wisconsin. This park is chock full of folk art pieces made by a man who picked up the hobby after retiring as a lumberjack. Fred Smith had no formal training, but he created dozens of pieces of 3-D concrete art. Located on what was once his private land, the Concrete Park is now a county park, donated by the Kohler Foundation, who helped rehab and restore the park and art after a storm damaged 70% of it in the late ’70s. The park is so special, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
It's difficult to describe what, exactly, this unique and wonderful park is. From the Concrete Park website, "The Wisconsin Concrete Park is an outdoor museum with 237 embellished concrete and mixed media sculptures built between 1948 and 1964 by Fred Smith, a retired lumberjack and self-taught artist and musician. Installed throughout Smith’s northwoods property in Phillips, WI, the site is a historical panorama of life-size and larger-than-life sculptures depicting people, animals, and events from local, regional and national history, from local lore, and from Smith’s expansive imagination. The Wisconsin Concrete Park is a masterwork of 20th century vernacular art environments."
There is no admission charge to view these delightful sculptures, but donations for site preservation are appreciated. Self-guided tour brochures are available on site for a donation, and a more in-depth history and self-guided tour can be found in the book The Art of Fred Smith.
You can get up close and personal with these larger-than-life sculptures and see all the detail and design that went into them. Concrete isn't exactly known as the most widely used art medium, but Smith used it to create hundreds of beautiful pieces.
The art here is inspiring in its use of found objects and recycled pieces. Smith's story of being self-taught and creating something that is now recognized as historically important in his free time because he felt the need to make something is truly inspirational.
There's fun and humor in these sculptures, as well as something comforting and almost mundane as the figures seem to go about their day-to-day lives memorialized in concrete.
As you wander around the grounds, you'll find all kinds of delightful and wonderful sculptures and installations, each different, but all unified in their style and medium.
There's something so motivating and moving about the idea of a retired lumberjack finding a new way to work with his hands in retirement. Having used his brawn for others' benefit for so long, Smith was free to create the ideas that were inside him once he left the workforce. Would that we all can indulge our own creativity and sense of wonder when we're in a similar situation.
What started as a hobby and a compunction for Smith turned into one of the most expansive displays of folk art anyone had ever seen. It's a place of significance in the American art pantheon, something I can't imagine Smith ever dreamed of.
Wisconsin Concrete Park is located at N8236 WI-13, Phillips, WI 54555. For more information about the Wisconsin Concrete Park, check out their website here.
Have you ever been to this one-of-a-kind Wisconsin spot? Let us know about it in the comments.
