Southern Art and Architecture

"To no small percentage of ... urban sophisticates, a Southern art collection is a velvet Elvis, a NASCAR poster and a concrete yard gnome," writes Hal Crowther in the current issue of the Oxford American.

The view of the South as some kind of cultural wasteland -- "the Sahara of the Bozart" in H.L. Mencken's famous jab -- is forcefully refuted in the Oxford American's special Southern Art and Architecture issue. The articles and galleries presented in the magazine illustrate the depth and range of artistic creativity present across the South.

From an interview with the recently deceased Arkansas architect E. Fay Jones to a profile of the Alabama "outsider" artist Thornton Dial to a critique of the work of Kentucky photographer Shelby Lee Adams, the magazine shows how a distinctively Southern sense of place can inspire an artist to create works that transcend the boundaries of place and speak to all people.

That kind of transcendent vision is especially needed in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Several articles in the Oxford American's special issue describe the importance of art and architecture in the recovery process, particularly in New Orleans.

Even if a bit belated, Oxford American's art and architecture issue makes an inspiring Christmas gift for anyone who finds art inspiring and believes that Southern art matters, not just to the region, but the nation as a whole.