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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2025 53 Sculpting from Scraps John Outterbridge (1933-2020) was born in Greenville, North Carolina. He was a master of 'assemblage art,' a painter, and a sculptor. Outterbridge's artistic use of repurposed materials was shaped by his father, an independent recycler of metal machine parts and equipment. His mother was a lyricist, who instilled in him the love for music and poetry. Outterbridge studied mechanical engineering at Agricultural and Technical University in Greensboro. He later joined the Army and, while stationed in Germany, painted murals and artwork professionally. Released from service on Dec. 29, 1955, in Richmond, Virginia, John boarded a Trailways bus and was ordered to the back. This humiliating experience fueled John's activism and commitment to social justice and change. Outterbridge went on to attend the Chicago Academy of Art and the American Academy of Art. In 1960, he married and moved to Los Angeles where he incorporated debris from the Watts riots into his sculptures. Outterbridge founded the Communicative Arts Academy in Compton, and in 1975 he became Director of the Watts Towers Arts Center. For 30 years, he was a key figure in the Los Angeles Arts and Crafts scene; expressing African American experiences and cultural narratives through compelling visual storytelling. His work earned recognition in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the California African American Museum. In 1976, Outterbridge gathered musical artist friends together for its first jazz festival, attracting around 2,000 attendees. This event became the Annual Watts Towers Jazz Festival. In 1982, John created the Annual Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival to celebrate Los Angeles' diversity. It drew more than 8,000 people for its first event, with drummers from Korea, India, and Ghana. Both these festivals grew from 8,000 to 10,000 attendees annually. In 1991, Outterbridge retired to focus on his art. He was given a lifetime achievement award in 2012 by the California African American Museum. He died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Nov. 12, 2020, at 87. Our annual Juneteenth celebration is coming up! Tickets are on sale for $30 per person. The AACC meets on the first Monday of the month at 6 pm in The Lodge Card Room. For information, contact Jocelyn Doucette at cjs1speed@gmail.com. ~ Regina omas African American Cultural Club John Outterbridge "Art is a spiritual vessel that has the audacity to be anything it needs to be." John Outterbridge John Outterbridge, Broken Dance, Ethnic Heritage Series, ca. 1978–82

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