James Castle

James Castle was a prolific, self-taught artist/bookmaker from central Idaho. Though he left thousands of drawings, very little first hand information is known of Castle's early years. Born in 1900 with disabilities, it is believed that he was deaf some think mute as well; Castle began drawing on his own as a young boy. He used soot and saliva as media and sharpened sticks as tools to make his drawings on cigarette pack wrappers, match books, cereal boxes - anything that fit his need. He bound the drawings, creating wonderful intimate books. Castle continued to work in this fashion in relative obscurity until his death in 1977, after which his work received a great deal of national notoriety.

This exhibition is curated by Tom Trusky, director of the Hemingway Western Studies Center / Professor of English, Boise State University. Trusky dedicated 10 years to documenting and preserving James Castle's work.

Pressetext

James Castle
from Icehouse to Early Attic: Art and Books
Kurator: Tom Trusky