Folk art appeals to me on so many levels: aesthetic, conceptual, gut. I appreciate the earnest artwork of the untrained, the insane, the imprisoned, so much more than those who learned their skills from a higher institution. I obsess over chipped, wonky pieces of yard art and untrained painters’ landscapes. There’s a lot to be said for creating work for yourself alone.

So, on that note, I hope you weren’t freaked out by the falsetto singing of a doll (you know I love that stuff). This video, narrated by one of folk artist Calvin Black’s “actresses,” shows a panoramic scene of Possum Trot and the “Bird Cage Theater.” Located in the bleak Mojave Desert, Black spent his life creating this installation, including more than 80 life-size female dolls, each with its own personality, function, and costume. Each of the dolls perform and “sing” in voices recorded by the artist. Was this carnival ever intentioned for the public? I’m not sure. I wish it still existed, nonetheless. Can you even imagine coming upon this?

Watch the short documentary on Calvin Black and Possum Trot in its entirety on Folkstreams.