Joe Fafard

Book excerpt: Few contemporary artists have worked in the sheer variety of styles that Joe Fafard has perfected -- and won such acclaim for their efforts. Born in 1942 in a remote farming hamlet in Saskatchewan, the idiosyncratic artist early on chose a radically different direction from the prevailing modernistic aesthetic of the early 1960s, boldly exploring new media and new imagery. Gaining fame initially as a ceramic sculptor of oversize animals and people, in the early 1980s he turned to laser-steel and bronze work, along the way adding painting to his repertoire. This dual biography and critical study features a wealth of illustrations from Fafard's long career, generously sampling both the monumental sculptures done as public and private commissions, and the more intimate studies of people and prairie that reside in museums worldwide and in the private collections of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby, and others.