작품 상세

Alfred Taplet New Orleans, (b.1934) Twinkle Your Toes in You Big Boots Folk / Outsider art painting on slate roof tile Signed ower left. Minor paint loss. Alfred "Big Al" Taplet was born in 1934 in New Orleans. He was an artist who began shining shoes as a boy, growing up. in New Orleans. One day, Big Al picked up scraps of roofing slate from a nearby construction site, thinking it'd be a good idea to advertise his and Little Al's local shoe-shining business. This took off as people bought the art and eventually he and his twin brother bought and opened a workshop. While one brother would man their two-in-one home and shop, the other would work the shoeshine stand in Jackson Square. Together, they shined shoes and sold art." After Hurricane Katrina they moved to Houston, Texas. Big Al is listed in the Rosenak reference book "Contemporary American Folk Art, A Collector's Guide" as well as the book "Self Taught, Outsider and Folk Art" by Betty-Carol Sellen. He is also a featured artist in the award-winning documentary "Outside the Lines/Encounters with Self-Taught Artists.