I never met Charles W Plaxco, but I became interested in his story in 1985 when he died and I accompanied my father to visit his surviving sister Sara, with whom he had lived the entirety of his life, in Matthews NC. I had just gotten my MFA in sculpture and was living in New York. 

During my childhood my father had not really had much contact with the Matthews Plaxcos, but was called in the early '80s when the siblings' situation took a turn for the worse in their mutual struggle with mental illness. They were wasting away from malnutrition as a result of self-neglect, and the family home which they had inherited was going to ruin. Amidst these woes Charles suffered a kick from an angry horse and fell prey to gangrene. To make a long story short, Dad managed to basically save Charles’ life and limb, and established a trust fund to keep him and sister Sara financially healthy through the development of a portion of the family farmland on the outskirts of Charlotte. He served as the executor to their estate, and cared for them selflessly and diligently until their deaths.

Prior to my visit I had been forewarned of the nature of this strange “couple”, who were variously described as schizoid, eccentric, backwards, obsessive , just plain crazy (Charles) slow, ignorant, psychotic and retarded (Sara). They must have been a fascination for the local gossips. Unfortunately I never had the chance to judge these theories for myself in Charles, but my brief encounters with Sara pretty much confirmed the general, politically incorrect consensus, though I would add to that list : innocent, friendly, generous, funny and not altogether lacking in wisdom.

The stories of Charles’s "interests" were in evidence in and about the old house. There were all types of stuffed exotic animals - ocelots, hyenas, parrots and other beloved pets - which he had kept and cared for at the farm, to later immortalize upon their deaths (he was a licensed taxidermist). Also to be found were numerous paint-by-numbers “artworks,” old photos framed in homemade, cast plaster frames decorated with leaves and acorns, photo albums filled with pictures of horses and their riders, manila folders stuffed in drawers and filled with correspondence-course information for  get-rich-quick schemes, and dozens of books about Native American and African cultures, witchcraft, fauna, fish, flora and Bigfoot. I’m only now learning of his occupation in the '70s as a self-taught trainer of teenaged girls (and monkeys) in the art of trick-riding, an activity which gained him passing fame in the local newspapers.  

When my brother showed me one of the wood burnings on that same trip, I was just floored. It still seems strange that no one had mentioned them before-after all I’m from a family of artists and “makers” (I discovered they say this in England-we in the US normally just call our ilk “guys with a shop” ) - but maybe my newfound artworld experience, which had included a lecture by the then recently discovered and skillfully exploited father of Folk Art Howard Finster, had tuned me in to the special nature of Charles’s work. I managed to procure a prime example of what I call the late-style works, which were the most recent and advanced in terms of design forethought, technical virtuosity, beauty and old-fashioned obsessive-compulsive over-the-toppedness.  

You might say that this project is my own "monkey in the freezer". Now it's time to thaw that monkey out. My vision is a large-format photo-illustrated catalogue/biography (OK we’ll call it a coffee table book if it makes you happy). I intend to do this first-class, and use it in the end as a recorded history for family members, a  stunning keepsake for Kickstarter pledgers, and a promotional tool for gallery owners, collectors and museums.  This will be the first step towards establishing Charles Plaxco as a blue-chip, undiscovered outsider-artist, a distinction he overwhelmingly deserves, and of sharing his legacy with the world.

First and foremost, I plan to include stellar quality photographs of his artworks, the more complete the better (there exist only a little over 100 pieces). I will accompany that with the most insightful, honest and complete history of the man that resources will allow. It will contain essays by a scholar of 20th century art, a behavioral psychiatrist, and a folk art expert (anyone interested in contributing?).  I expect this story to be funny, sad, revelatory and respectfully provocative. Why did he do what he did? Was he Folk Artist, Idiot Savant, Brut artist, all of the above? What was his clinical "condition"? How was his relationship with his sister?  Moreover, I want to "crack the nut" of Charles Plaxco's duel nature as a dysfunctional, mentally disturbed horse whisperer, teacher and accomplished artist. My Kickstarter funding will go towards:

• Investigation and research: I’ll need to conduct interviews, dig through archives, pore through his books, watch his 8mm movies, etc. This will require money for travel and accommodations.
• Photography and processing of all artworks and supporting images.
• Design of the book, for which I plan to collaborate with a top-notch, art book designer (in negotiation). My reward price per book reflects the minimum I will need in order to break even for a run of 250 copies at 200 pages. A book this ambitious is expensive!
• Fees for contributing essayists.
• Cost of hand printed photo-etching, from an original "Exotic Cats" work, produced by Master Printer Jonathan Higgins at Manekken Press ( http://www.mannekenpress.com). Again, the cost per reward reflects my minimum run cost.

Though the finite goal of Monkey in the Freezer  is the publication of the book of the same working title, I plan to pursue in the near future a strategy of promotion and exhibition of his work and life, with an eye towards the selling and/or contribution of at least part of my collection to collectors and museums. This should be an added encentive to top dollar pledgers who receive genuine artworks and belongings of Charles Plaxco, which are rare indeed. I might add that it would be great if you remain open to lending your rewards for upcoming exhibition purposes. Owners of works will of course be officially credited, as in "Collection of John Brown" or " Kindly lent by Jane Smith". I will also reserve copyrights of images of works that I have photographed and have free use of those images. 

A word about rewards: although I won’t be able to deliver the finished book until its estimated completion in September 2012, I will of course deliver all other rewards as quickly as possible.

Thank you so much for reading this and suffering through my imovie-made video, which I realize is at times as painful to watch as it was to "produce". "Made with a Mac" indeed! 

REWARD IMAGE BANK

• REWARD # 3 and 3a -POSTER OF CW PLAXCO WORK

http://www.flickr.com/photos/splaxco/6982487997/in/set-72157629584981395

Another image, as seen in the link, may be offered if this one reaches its minimum print run

• REWARD # 6b-CHACHKA (1st come first serve)

• REWARD # 7- FINE ART PRINT OF "EXOTIC CATS" IMAGE, EDITION OF #PLEDGES + 25.   

(Paper size 15" x 22" . This is a photoshopped simulation)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/splaxco/sets/72157629203960480/

• REWARD #9 - MIDDLE STYLE WORKS: 1 OBJECT PER PLEDGE FROM SELECTION AT FOLLOWING LINK: 

• REWARD #10 - LATE STYLE MASKS: 1 OBJECT PER PLEDGE 

• REWARD #11 - LATE STYLE WORK, "EXOTIC CAT" PLAQUE: 

• REWARD #12 - DECORATED BOWL SET