Willie Jinks (GA, 1921-2012), Folk Art Bird House

Late 20th century, painted and spray painted plywood construction, mounted to rectangular plywood plinth, signed "Willie Jinks / HOPER" to posterior of house.

68 1/2 x 19 x 24 in.

Willie Jinks (1921-2012), was a self-taught artist born into a sharecropper family as one of thirteen children in Locust Grove, Georgia. He eventually moved to Atlanta as a young man, where he began working for the Department of Sanitation. Later in life, Jinks began salvaging and collecting junk found on the job to incorporate into his art.

In the artist's own words, “People throws this stuff out. I get in my van and go collect it, and bring it back to the Hobby Shop.” His “Hobby Shop” was a small shed in the backyard that eventually overflowed to encompass his home and yard.

Jink's fascination with animals, nature, and mechanical things is visible throughout all of his artwork, and he is most famous for his “Hoperman” (“Hobbyman”) character who shows up in much of his work, and the cryptic writing on most of his pieces and was most likely a reference to himself, "The Hobby Man."

Some loose elements to whole; elements with scattered surface marks and cracking to wood; some evidence of outdoor use.