VAM galleries including this work:
Kentucky Folk Art Center | Seeing Red || VAM Home

Like many other Kentucky folk artists, Erma Lewis Jr. created many works relating to religion. This painted wood carving depicts a grisly devil’s head with blood dripping from its mouth. The violent nature of this image has inspired a variety of reactions. Some viewers have wondered whether the artist is presenting the devil in a positive way. Another interpretation might be to see the piece as being inspired by the artist’s belief in a vengeful God.

About the Artist

Erma Lewis Jr., better known as Junior Lewis, grew up in rural Elliott County, near Isonville, Kentucky. He is a cousin of Tim and Leroy Lewis, two brothers who are folk artists. Their grandfather had made chairs in the traditional way, using a draw-knife and a shaving horse to fashion the legs and framework of the chair and hickory bark for the seat.

Junior Lewis took up farming after leaving school in the mid-1960s. Like most farmers, he was “handy”—skilled at fixing things and making things work around the farm. He began carving in 1987, when he first made a devil head out of a block of wood. In addition to devil sculptures, colorful carved walking sticks, and animal sculptures, Lewis created portrayals of scenes from the Bible, setting individually carved figures onto a flat wooden base. His Last Supper is the best known of these works.

Lewis died suddenly of a heart attack in 1999. His work is admired and sought out by collectors of contemporary folk art and continues to be regularly included in folk art exhibitions.

Classroom Ideas

Discussion: Why do you think Lewis chose to sculpt such a scary creature? Do you think he is trying to teach a lesson through this piece? Why might he have painted the face with black and white stripes? Is this what you would imagine a devil to look like? Why or why not?

Activity: Research how artists throughout history have illustrated devils and demons. Do the depictions change with different time periods and artistic movements? Write down what you notice about how ideas about evil, particularly demons and devils, have changed over time, as evidenced by artwork. Create posters or a timeline about religious art through the ages.

Links

You’ll find a biography of Junior Lewis and educational resources in Revelations and Reflections of American Self-Taught Artists (PDF format), a guide developed to accompany a Mid-American Arts Alliance ExhibitsUSA exhibition of folk art works relating to religion.
[www.maaa.org/exhi_usa/exhibitions/fully_booked/revelations/pg-revel.pdf]