ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF FOLKLORE AND CULTURE …scottwheelock.com/PDFs/foset.pdfCHARLES BEECHWOOD AND...

ALABAMADEPARTMENTOFFOLKLOREANDCULTURE

PRESENT

ARTFROMTHEFACEOFGODCHURCH

CHARLESBEECHWOODANDBUDDYLOWERY

BUNKFOSET

MORGANCHOLULA

DANNYPLEASANT

1

ARTOFTHE

FACEOFGODCHURCH

PRESENTEDBY

THEALABAMADEPARTMENTOF

FOLKLOREANDCULTURE

LeeEdwardsEditor

ScottWheelockArchivesManager

BOOK1ISSUE2

COPYRIGHTSCOTTWHEELOCKALLRIGHTSRESERVED

2

INTRODUCTION

cultureistheoverflowofhuman

imagination-Greekproverb

Artthroughouthistoryhasatleastbeen,

inthemindsofthecreatersutilitarian.To

ourancientancestorsartwasconsidered

a matter of life or death. The Hopi

Indians believed that if they did not

perform the sun ritual dance the sun

would literally not rise in the morning.

Whereas the Greeks believed their

temperamentalgodscouldbeswayedby

the creation of temples or a particularly

finestatue.

The artists represented here are not

supported by such a culture nor does

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their culturesupplyarecognizableset

of symbolic forms for the artist to use

fortheirexpression.

Theirattempts tomakeintoformwhat

wasurgentlyinsideofthemmadethem

into outcasts. Why did make their

work, and who did they make their

work for? My work at The Alabama

UniversityDepartment of folklore and

culture has not been to try to answer

these thorny questions but rather

preserveandpresenttheworksofthese

men and women who I believe want

nothingmore than to reachout andbe

understood.

3

IntroductiontoCholulaandtheFaceofGodChurch

Weinthesouthareapracticalpeople

when we speak of culture we mean

work, family, and God. Traditionally

our culture has allowed only in our

religiouslifeflightsoftheimagination

but by the very definition of

fundamentalism, namely a literal

translationoftheBible,thoseteachings

havebecomecoldanddevitalized,but

byblocking this flow it often surfaces

elsewhereoftenwithtragicresults.

The time these four stories occurred

was a time very different from our

own. At the beginning of the last

century, people such as Freud, Yung,

Madame Blavatsky, Einstein and the

surrealists all vied to define an

increasingly uncertain sense of our

placeintheworld.Inshort,Therewas

a belief that the contradictions of

science and religion could be

reconciled. Yung's fascination with

Cholula is well known but Cholula's


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tragicfateconvincedYungandothersthat

religion and science were pursuits best

left separate. It was a time when reason

was thought to have the power to free

manofhissuperstitiousnaturebutitsoon

becameapparentreasoncouldbeusedas

a tool to justify just about anything.

Cholulasawmen's livesand increasingly

the men themselves in symbolic form

withhimselfaspuppeteersettingthemon

various trajectories. The three men

Lowery, Beachwood, Foset found

themselvesexpelledfromthechurchona

trajectory not of their choosing yet each

faced their fate bravely. In viewing the

work contained in this volume it is

important to remember the artwork that

ensued must be considered part of

Cholulastrajectoryaswell.

LeeEdwardsEditor

Alabama Department of Folklore and

Culture

4

BUNKFOSET

5

BUNKFOSET

6

BunkFoset

Bunk Foset’s connection to Cholula has

fueledhisfame,but theworkofBunkFoset

standsonitsown.Hisworkhascrossedover

into popular culture, such as on the album

covers of Death Metal Bands or so-called

"occult bands."Hewas second in command

atCholula’scompoundandappearedtohave

ReverendCholula's absolute trust.A reputed

Klansman and disgraced police officer, he

struckmanyasanoddchoiceforthechurch's

headofsecurity.

After the fire, Foset was found

wanderingthestreetsontheoutskirtsofSand

Mountain, unable to speak or respond to

inquiries about his identity. It was clear he

had undergone surgery by Cholula from the

smallandskillfullyhealedholesinhisupper

forehead.Withoutmodernfingerprintingand

forensic techniques, Foset remained

unidentifiedfordays.

Much has been written about

Cholula's "soul release" which was

essentially a lobotomy but Foset’s strange

surgerywassomethingnew.Fosetwasdazed

and tired but he was recovering. In eight

months, it was deemed he could leave the

hospital, and he was discharged to his wife

Sarah's care. It had been years since they'd

seenoneanothersinceSarahwantednothing

to do with the Face of God Church. It is

amazing she took him back as Foset had

always been "an abusive brute," a trait that

had served himwell as the disciplinarian of

thechurchandapoliceman.

At first, Sarah reported he was a

changedman,kindandhumble,buteventually

it became known, although rational in every

otherway,hebelievedshewasanimpostor.He

waswary of her, and no one could dispel the

notion she was not his wife. Today this

condition is known as Capgras syndrome but

wasunknownat that time.Foset also suffered

from REM disorder syndrome. A condition

where one becomes agitated in REM sleep,

thrashingaboutviolentlyenoughtobeadanger

to a bedmate. A second symptom of REM

disorder is exceptionally vivid dreams. With

thedamage to the languagecenter thatFoset’s

brainsufferedItwasnotsurprisingheturnedto

drawingasanoutletforhisdistress.

He had littlememory of his timewith

Cholula,sayingonethingoneday,andanother

thenextday,atalossastohowhecouldhave

contradicted himself. Oddly enough, despite

their fantastical nature, I believe he was

looking to the drawings for solid ground.

Although his imagery is often adult in nature,

hisdegreeofexpressionischildlike,providing

no filter or guile to Foset's inner state. Foset

felt alone in a world of incomprehensible

beingsandusedthedrawingstotest thelimits

of that world. In the beginning, the pictures

were encouraged, and their gruesome nature

wasthoughttobetherapeutic.Thoughwhenhe

depicted his wife as a harpy and a succubus

and drew himself as an anatomically correct

Minotaur scrawling "New Normal" on the

drawing (a phrase his therapist usedwith him

intherapy)hisdrawingwasthendeemedaless

thanhealthyactivity.

7

Of note was his one and only

visit to Beachwood. Instead of talking

about their time with Cholula, Foset

chosetofocusonBeachwood'sartwork;

this direction being much preferred by

Beachwood himself. Foset painted two

picturesin"homage"tothevisit:aquite

remarkable version of Beachwood's

Kracken and a Xanadu that perhaps

aptly,seemstobeallclouds.Foset'slate

workssuchas“LittleRedRidingHood”

appears to reflect a Beechwood-like

karmic outlook. In “Beast Milk” the

poisonofthemotherbeingpassedtothe

nextgeneration ispresumably about the

relationship between him and Cholula.

Viewing Cholula in the feminine may

seemodd,butasidefromhisself-portrait

asaminotaur,allFoset'sothercreations

were female, an interestingdetail of his

psycheIleavetotheexperts.

When Foset's wife disappeared

undermysterious circumstances, hewas

committed by the court and his former,

fellowlawmentotheAlbertvilleAsylum

for the Mentally Insane. That he was

abletoforestalltheinevitableforsolong

isatestamenttoFoset’scunning.

The Albertville Asylum for the

Mentally Insanewas anticipated tohold

nomorethan250patients,butby1940s

it held more than a thousand inmates.

The 30 acres of grounds included a

chapelandcemetery.Inmatesgrewtheir

ownvegetablesandmaintained the land

uponwhichthehospitalsat.Theasylum

provided good if indifferent care to its

patients until Dr. DavidHuntsman took


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limbs.Buttheasylum'srealclaimtofame

wasforcastratingmanyofitspatients.In

1934Alabamalawgavethumbsuptothe

castration of chronic criminals, idiots,

epileptics,imbecilesandtheinsane.Asa

result, 64 castration's took place at the

Albertville hospital this was particularly

troubling considering the hospital was

later found to have many patients who

identities and illnesses were unknown

and lacked the proper paperwork to be

committed.

I've seen videos of the asylum's

residents roaming around and being fed

likeanimals;I'dliketothinkFosetcould

haveescapedoutofdoorstothegrounds

and wandered the outdoors he loved so

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over. He brought supposedly new ideas

on mental illness, and much suffering

ensued.Dr.Huntsmanhadconcludedthat

mentalillnesswascausedbyinfectionsin

the body. To test and prove his wild

theories, he began to remove patients

infectedteethandevenamputateinfected

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8

well.Itmustbeassumedhewasmuchamused

watching Huntsman parallel Cholula in the

abuses he penetrated against the inmates.

Somewhere along the line, Foset began to

preachtothem.

Fosetfoundhis“preachingvoice"and

he drew huge crowds in the corridors and

subbasementsoftheasylum.Theyweredrawn

bythepassionandenergyoftheman,qualities

so steeped out of the inmate's life that they

weredrawn tohim likemoths toa flame.Of

thenatureofwhathepreachedlittleisknown.

What we do know is he returned to Cholula

and attempted to recreate Cholula's Bible,

often drawing the illustrations as the sermon

itself.

What remains of Foset’s drawings

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were found in a cardboard box among his

belongingswhenhedied.Itisawondertheywere

kept at all. But for once indifference saved the

day,a janitorput themintostorage,and24years

later they were rediscovered, a little moldy but

otherwiseintact.

After the abuse Cholula perpetrated on

Foset, why did he return to Cholula’s theology?

PerhapsFosetrealizeditwasnotthemessagethat

Cholula’s followers were responding to but the

vitalityoftheman.Thatvitality,evenvicariously

experienced, provided a sort of healing in those

whoseownvitalityhadbeenburnedaway.Foset,

themanCholulatrustedmost,eventuallybetrayed

him for Foset's ministry was a Ministry of the

idiot, his followers watching him

uncomprehendingandopen-mouthedasheburned

likeastarbeforethem.

9

1AnimalSpirits

ThisistheonlyknownpieceofFoset'sdonebeforehissurgerywhilehewaslivingatthe

compound.ItcontainstheformalityandrichtonalityofCholula'sworks.Perhapsdepictingthe

catsFosetkilledbythedozens,tolearnanatomyandpracticevarioussurgicalprocedures.

Penandinkonpaper18x24"

10

2TheCatWomanCorpse

Thisgruesomeearlypainting,againonthethemeofcats,illustratesthedeclinein

Foset'sfacultiesfromwhenhedidtheprevious"animalspirits".Thequestionofweather

itreferstoguilt,humor,oravisceralmemoryisanyone'sguess?Fosetsaiditreferredto

apracticaljokeheplayedonCholula.Commenting,"Iknewitwouldbetimetoleaveif

Cholulastartedlaughingatmyjokes."

Inkandwatercoloronpaper

20x30"

11

3HalfChimera

AChimeraisacreaturemadeupofthepartsofvariousanimal's.Traditionally,alions

body,aneagleswingsandhead,andasnakeforatail.TobeahalfChimerapointsat

theincompletenessofacreaturethatisalreadyaconfusedassemblyofparts.

Pencilandinkonpaper

32x24"

12

4&5TheNewNormalMinotaur

Aninterestingnote,inordertosellthispainting,FosetpaintedovertheMinotaur's

phallus.ComparethefinalversiontoanoriginalphotoofthepieceIfoundinofall

places,thefilesoftheAlbertvillePoliceDepartment.

Inkonpaper

33x45"

14

6Harpy

Theassociationswithharpiesarenumerous,fromthetauntingwitchofGreekmythology,to

Dante'scityofDis,tothecolloquialnaggingwife.


40x30"

15

7LittleRedRidingHood

OneofFoset'smostpopularimages,LittleRedRidingHoodhasexactedherrevengeon

thewolfanddonnedthewolvespelt.Perhapsasin"BeastMilk"thetraumaofthevictim

makesthemintothevictimizer.


32x22"

16

8Kraken,afterBeachwood

Aremarkablepiece.FosetsupposedlypainteditoutofjealousyfortheattentionBeachwood

wasreceiving.saying,"IcouldpaintthesepicturesBeachwooddoesinmysleep.

Watercoloronpaper

30x45"

17

9Xanadu,afterBeachwood

ThethemeofXanaduwasanobviousreferencetoheavenforBeachwood.Fosetportrays

asimilarfloatingruinbutcoversitwithafriendlycloud-likeatmosphere.

Watercoloronpaper

30x45"

18

10Succubus

Asuccubusisamythologicaldemonthatdrainsthe

lifeofamanbysappinghissexualenergies.Whether

Fosetisbeingprovocativeormakingacommenton

hisnewrelationshipwithhiswifeisunclear.


32x44"

19

10Succubus

Asuccubusisamythologicaldemonthatdrainsthe

lifeofamanbysappinghissexualenergies.Whether

Fosetisbeingprovocativeormakingacommenton

hisnewrelationshipwithhiswifeisunclear.


32x44"

20

11BeastMilk

Fosetcommentedthatthis

piecewasaboutthepassing

ofthepoisonfromthemother

totheoffspring.Thecatisa

reoccurringthemeinFoset's

workperhapsareferenceto

thecatsthatCholulahadhim

dissectinorderforFosetto

becomeCholula'ssurgical

assistant.

Inkonpaper

48x30"

21

Therearejustover60worksIfoundintheboxleftinAlbertvilleasylum.Somearein

betterconditionthanothers,someareclearlyinreferencetoDante'sandCholula'swork,

othersarenot.Fosetleftnotexttoaccompanyhiswork.Thereasonsforthismayneverbe

knownalthoughitmaysimplybethathiscongregationwaslargelyilliterate.

Ihavepickedasamplingoftheillustrationstoillustratethescopeofproject.Althoughthe

workisasnottechnicallypolishedasCholulasithasavigorandpassion,anunrestrained

qualitythatisaheadofitstime.

1

ALBERTVILLEASYLUMDRAWINGS

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27

4

5

8

29

10

30

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12

31

13

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32

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16

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1EvilCouncilors

Inkandchalkonpaper

9x12"

2TheThieves

Inkandchalkonpaper

8x14"

3TheShades

Inkandchalkonpaper

8x14"

4LeadCloaks

Inkandchalkonpaper

12x18"

5TheCorrupt

Inkandchalkonpaper

8x12"

6TheGiants

Inkandchalkonpaper

8x12"

7WingedDemon

Inkandchalkonpaper

12x12"

8SickMan

Inkandchalkonpaper

7x12"

9TheLustful

Inkandchalkonpaper

12x12"

10Cerberus

Inkandchalkonpaper

10x12"

11FlyingMan

Inkandchalkonpaper

8x12"

12ManandSnake

Inkandchalkonpaper

8x12"

13WeepingMan

Inkandchalkonpaper

10x10"

14TheAngel

Inkandchalkonpaper

8x12"

15FallenAngel

Inkandchalkonpaper

11x14"

16TheFortuneTeller

Inkandchalkonpaper

11x14"

17TheCircles

Inkandchalkonpaper

16x24"

ALABAMADEPARTMENTOFFOLKLOREANDCULTURE

PRESENT

ARTFROMTHEFACEOFGODCHURCH

CHARLESBEECHWOODANDBUDDYLOWERY

BUNKFOSET

MORGANCHOLULA

DANNYPLEASANT

ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF FOLKLORE AND CULTURE …scottwheelock.com/PDFs/foset.pdfCHARLES BEECHWOOD AND...

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