Muffler Men

Timothy Corrigan Correll, Patrick Arthur Polk, Patrick Arthur Polk

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English

University Press of Mississippi
30 October 2000

Sculpture; Folk art; Video photography

Series: Folk Art and Artists Series

Art can appear in the most unexpected places. Muffler men, for example, have become one of the most striking and remarkable of recent folk art creations. From Walla Walla to Daytona, quirky mannikins constructed from discarded automobile mufflers are popping up across America. Cobbled together as business signposts, these comical sculptures are sprouting outside automotive repair shops everywhere.

Car debris harmonizes with human anatomy as rusty cast-offs assume a new identity as savvy objets d'art. Signage turns into art as mechanics fashion cowboys, dogs, robots, space aliens, and a host of other creatures from metal scraps of the profession and with the aid of their workaday tools and acetylene.

If for only a passing moment, the muffler men enliven the roadside and help to break up the monotony of daily commutes. More than mere advertisements, they interact with their communities by greeting the passerby. The significance of muffler sculptures turns profound when they become local celebrities and are hailed as community landmarks.

But, what do they mean? For the creative mechanic who made them, they are exclamatory signposts and store mascots. For the academic folklorists who analyze them, they are symbolic icons with cultural meanings that proclaim individual identity and group membership. For the collectors who treasure them, they are exemplars of """"outsider art."""" For most non-specialists who wave as they speed past, they are funky delights.

This colorful book documents the widespread appeal of muffler men as a form of occupational art that enriches the workplace, the local environment, and now the art gallery.

By: Timothy Corrigan Correll, Patrick Arthur Polk, Patrick Arthur Polk
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 254mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 8mm
Weight: 333g
ISBN: 9781578062997
ISBN 10: 1578062993
Series: Folk Art and Artists Series
Pages: 132
Publication Date: 30 October 2000
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Timothy Corrigan Correll is a folklorist whose research focuses on material behavior and folk belief.|Patrick Arthur Polk serves as the museum scientist and archivist for the UCLA Folklore and Mythology Archives.

Reviews for Muffler Men

Muffler men are the cigar-store Indians of the late twentieth century, trade figures made to stand in front of shops to advertise what is sold inside. Both are considered forms of folk art, but the skinny metal figures with shimmering muffler heads and torsos and pipe-thin legs found outside auto repair shops are wittier, more imaginative, and flamboyantly painted. . . . Rita Reif, <i>The New York Times</i></p>