Last week I was in Jackson, MS and had the privilege of spending some time with Charles Lindsey: Mississippi sculptor, painter, inventor, philosopher, historian, poet, etc. I first came in contact with Charles 10+ years ago, when my Mom invited him to participate in an arts day at my High School. I always new him as the "wire man", because he sculpted people's names and portraits out of wire.
He keeps a lot of his work in his Mom's old home, where he was born. It reminded me of Francis Bacon's studio (as seen here). Old sculptures, paintings, Bible drill trophies, toys, clothes, and various debris were stacked in clumps around the walls. Looking up you can see Charles' hand prints scattered across the ceilings. When I inquired about them he mentioned the "Sistine Chapel".
What I remember most about Charles was that he predicted he would die by the end of 2005. When I met with him last week I asked him about this prediction. "Well," he said. "I was wrong...it was my brother." He pointed out that he painted his Mom's old house 3 different colors in honor of 3 different family members that died around that time.
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