ALL: Master Collection List
Nationality
American
Artist Dates
1930-2010
Preview
Medium
Photography
Height
17"
Width
12 1/2"
Collection/Provenance
Art & Design Study Collection: James Smith Pierce Film Collection
Status
Stored: 211A FF_0012_I
Location
UND Art Collections Repository
Artist Bio
Born in Brooklyn, New York, James Smith Pierce received his PhD in art history from Harvard University. During his career as a professor, Pierce also became an accomplished artist, whose artworks were included in important exhibitions (including a show on land art at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC) and books on contemporary earthworks and site-specific sculpture. Pierce was also a photographer, exhibition curator, and art collector.
Additional Information
About Tressa "Grandma" Prisbrey:
Tressa “Grandma” Prisbrey (1886-1988) lived in many different cities throughout her lifetime, including Minot, North Dakota; Seattle, Washington; and Simi Valley, California. While in California, Grandma Prisbrey created what is now known as “Grandma Prisbrey’s Bottle Village.” Her village was made from discarded materials she obtained mostly from a nearby dump, which she upcycled into very unique structures on the plot that she lived on. She used materials such as dolls, glass bottles, pencils, and anything else that she thought would add well to her art. She created the bottle village as a way to memorialize her family, friends, and even life events. She also wanted a place to store all of her things. Her art has drawn much attention for the resourcefulness and eccentricity of it – after all, there aren’t many places where you can find sticks protruding from the ground with dolls heads on top and shacks made of old bottles and handmade cement. She created fifteen structures, but she didn’t stop there. She also handmade a road of stepping stones consisting of recycled items that she liked, flower planters, a shrine of recycled materials made to look like a rose garden, fountains, and even wishing wells.
Unsurprisingly, this village has attracted much attention since it was constructed, but it is not in the same state that it once was. An intense earthquake in 1994 damaged the village, but what is left of the site still stands. Grandma Prisbrey’s Bottle Village is still available for touring, but an appointment must be made in advance to see this eccentric wonder.
Images and film are provided for educational purposes only. © University of North Dakota. All rights reserved.
Rights
Images are provided for educational purposes only and may not be reproduced for commercial use. Images may be protected by artist copyright. A credit line is required to be used for any public non-commercial educational purpose. The credit line must include, “Image courtesy of the University of North Dakota.”