I first met Joe Minter in 2014, two years before the In Search of America Project began while traveling through the south in search of a different aspect of America.
Joe Minter is considered “an American Sculptor” but his sculptures are not what one normally thinks of. Instead of marble, clay, or bronze shaped into the artist’s representation of a subject, Joe Minter takes various pieces of scrap metal and found materials and assembles them into representations of his subjects.
His most famous body of work is a project that spanned more than thirty years, titled: African Village in America. Pieces from this project are housed in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others.
African Village in America - which Joe erected in his yard, located on the southwest edge of Birmingham, Alabama right next to the Black cemetery, is the visual story of African American history from the first arrivals of captured Africans to the present day struggles of Black Americans.
Included in the subject matter that Joe addresses through his sculptures is: the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, Hurricane Katrina, the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, and “the eleven million Africans shipped in bondage to America”, as well as the descendants of these enslaved people who help to defend America in the various wars.
Over several visits to Joe’s I had spent countless hours listening to him talk about his work, and about life in general - which were so completely intertwined with each other. Joe spoke in a soft and rapid voice - as if he were trying desperately to reveal through his spoken words all of the thoughts that were in his head. In hindsight it is clear that conversations with Joe were no different than walking through his sculpture garden: chaotic but so very enlightening.
Each time that Joe would enter his sculpture garden he always entered carrying his medicine stick of sorts; a tall walking-style stick that was heavily decorated with various items. Joe also wore a red hardhat.
During one of my visits he invited me into one of his ‘other’ houses, located across the street from his dwelling and his garden. He used these houses to store his scrap, and other found materials to be considered for future sculptures
Meeting Joe Minter was truly a gift. Becoming a friend was, and still is an honor. If you visit Joe, take the time to slow down, and listen carefully to his words. He is a man of great wisdom.
Minter’s “African Village in America” is located at 931 Nassau Ave. SW, Birmingham, Alabama 35211