Join Calvin Grimm, Tad Wise and Roger Ricco for a discussion about the life and work of Clarence Schmidt, an “outsider artist” and pioneer of monumental environmental sculpture.

Schmidt’s ongoing life’s work, the “Miracle on the Mountain,” was a castle he constructed of found objects and recycled materials between the years 1940-1972. It evolved over time on the back slope of Ohayo Mountain, in Woodstock NY. Schmidt worked in near total seclusion for many years, and was harshly rejected and ridiculed by Woodstock artists of the time. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the counter-culture flocking to Woodstock embraced and defended Schmidt and his project. Fire twice wreaked havoc on his castle and today, his tireless labor, aside from a few treasured artifacts, is lost.

This talk will look at Schmidt’s work in the broader context of Outsider/Obsessive, Visionary and Environmental Art. Presenters will be native Woodstock artist, environmental activist, and collector/defender of Schmidt, Calvin Grimm; along with Woodstock artist and Outsider Art expert, Roger Ricco (retired co-founder of Ricco-Maresca Gallery); and Tad Wise, whose extensive 2010 Woodstock Times article, “Clarence’s Ashes,” rekindled passionate interest in Schmidt a decade ago.

Two short films by Beryl Sokoloff documenting Clarences’ achievements will be shown and available for purchase.