Skip to main content
G:N1:9 3
Edit position
Edit position

Last set 2 days, 19 hours ago. Manual moves override automatic placement until the next shelfie/spine match.

The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art
Diagnose this book
Open in Vernon Browser

The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art

by Greg Bottoms

This travelogue explores the lives of self-taught, evangelical outsider artists across America. Through biographical portraits, it examines how these individuals use colourful, apocalyptic art to process trauma, grief, and difficult personal histories.

Accession 12272 ISBN 9780226066851 Publisher University of Chicago Press
Book Images
Reference and live side by side Hover to see live images
Reference
The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art spine
The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art cover
Live
The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art live spine
No live
The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art spine The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art live spine
The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art cover
No live
TAGS
Curated Derived
Art Artists Authors Biography
CONNECTIONS
No connections
State
on_shelf
True
position_updated_at
2026-06-03 16:44
orientation
vertical
Details

Physical

binding_type
Hard Back
dimensions
none captured
spine_text
none captured

Metadata

Book form
LOCATION HISTORY
G:N1:9 3 Current vertical
2 days, 19 hours ago
G:N1:14 4 vertical
1 week, 1 day ago
G:N1:13 3 vertical
1 week, 2 days ago
Book Location
Updated 2 days, 19 hours ago
Vernon snapshot
View live

Frozen copy of Vernon's record from the last sync. Fields tagged → flow back into the Pulse record.

Last synced 2026-05-26 16:10 (1 week, 3 days ago)

Identity

name→ title
The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art
vernon_id
19396
accession_no→ accession_number
12272
vernon_slug
the-colorful-apocalypse-journeys-in-outsider-art-greg-bottoms

Drives Pulse state

curr_loc_status→ on_shelf
On Shelf
location_name
Zone N1/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA
location_reason
On Shelf
isbn_issn→ isbn (when valid)
9780226066851

Descriptive

production_date
2007
object_type
Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication
object_status
Accessioned
brief_description
Beginning in Georgia with a trip to Finster's famous Paradise Gardens , Greg Bottoms' journey provides an unparalleled look into the lives and visionary works of some of Finster s contemporaries: the self-taught evangelical artists whose beliefs and oeuvres occupy the gray area between madness and Christian ecstasy. With his prodigious gift for conversation and quietly observant storytelling, Bottoms draws us into the worlds of such figures as William Thomas Thompson, a handicapped ex-millionaire who painted a 300-foot version of the book of Revelation; Norbert Kox, an ex-member of the Outlaws biker gang who now lives as a recluse in rural Wisconsin and paints apocalyptic visual parables; and Myrtice West, who began painting to express the revelatory visions she had after her daughter was brutally murdered. These artists works are as wildly varied as their life stories, but without sensationalizing or patronizing them, Bottoms - one of today s finest young writers - gets at the heart of what they have in common: the struggle to make sense, through art, of their difficult personal histories. In doing so, he weaves a true narrative as powerful as the art of its subjects, a work that is at once an enthralling travelogue, a series of revealing biographical portraits, and a profound meditation on the chaos of despair and the ways in which creativity can help order our lives

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Greg Bottoms
tags→ tags
Art, Arts, Persons, Artists, Outsider art, Outsider artists, Folk art
subject_people
Howard Finster (American, b.1916, d.2001), Norbert Kox, Mytrice West
subject_objects
—

Cover image

vernon_cover_image_id→ cover_image
19101

Raw Vernon JSON

click to inspect

The source payload behind the snapshot above.
Use ⌘F to search once expanded.
{7 keys}
"slug": "the-colorful-apocalypse-journeys-in-outsider-art-greg-bottoms"
"opacObjectId": "19396"
"opacCollection": {1 keys}
"opacCollectionId": "1"
"imagesCollection": {2 keys}
"images": [1 items]
"[0]": {5 keys}
"imageId": "19101"
"cssColors": [5 items]
"[0]": {9 keys}
"hex": "eee8aa"
"hue": 55
"rank": 1
"presence": 35.51
"colorName": "palegoldenrod"
"lightness": 80
"colorGroup": "yellow"
"saturation": 67
"formattedColorName": "pale goldenrod"
"[1]": {9 keys}
"hex": "000000"
"hue": 0
"rank": 2
"presence": 50.56
"colorName": "black"
"lightness": 0
"colorGroup": "gray"
"saturation": 0
"formattedColorName": "black"
"[2]": {9 keys}
"hex": "a0522d"
"hue": 19
"rank": 3
"presence": 9.71
"colorName": "sienna"
"lightness": 40
"colorGroup": "brown"
"saturation": 56
"formattedColorName": "sienna"
"[3]": {9 keys}
"hex": "a9a9a9"
"hue": 0
"rank": 4
"presence": 1.63
"colorName": "darkgray"
"lightness": 66
"colorGroup": "gray"
"saturation": 0
"formattedColorName": "dark gray"
"[4]": {9 keys}
"hex": "778899"
"hue": 210
"rank": 5
"presence": 1.04
"colorName": "lightslategray"
"lightness": 53
"colorGroup": "gray"
"saturation": 14
"formattedColorName": "light slate gray"
"rawColors": [7 items]
"[0]": {6 keys}
"hex": "e0c567"
"hue": 46
"rank": 1
"presence": 35.51
"lightness": 64
"saturation": 66
"[1]": {6 keys}
"hex": "302924"
"hue": 25
"rank": 2
"presence": 50.56
"lightness": 16
"saturation": 14
"[2]": {6 keys}
"hex": "8a6742"
"hue": 30
"rank": 3
"presence": 9.71
"lightness": 40
"saturation": 35
"[3]": {6 keys}
"hex": "a5a492"
"hue": 56
"rank": 4
"presence": 1.63
"lightness": 60
"saturation": 9
"[4]": {6 keys}
"hex": "72769b"
"hue": 234
"rank": 5
"presence": 1.04
"lightness": 52
"saturation": 17
"[5]": {6 keys}
"hex": "656858"
"hue": 71
"rank": 6
"presence": 1.49
"lightness": 37
"saturation": 8
"[6]": {6 keys}
"hex": "c15836"
"hue": 14
"rank": 7
"presence": 0.06
"lightness": 48
"saturation": 56
"imageLabels": [10 items]
"[0]": {5 keys}
"count": 19411
"score": 75.15
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Font"
"imageLabelId": 12
"[1]": {5 keys}
"count": 11761
"score": 74.51
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Poster"
"imageLabelId": 21
"[2]": {5 keys}
"count": 11006
"score": 66.04
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Art"
"imageLabelId": 4
"[3]": {5 keys}
"count": 5352
"score": 64.57
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Advertising"
"imageLabelId": 71
"[4]": {5 keys}
"count": 78
"score": 62.2
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Religious item"
"imageLabelId": 250
"[5]": {5 keys}
"count": 2836
"score": 60.08
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "History"
"imageLabelId": 80
"[6]": {5 keys}
"count": 19021
"score": 54.19
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Publication"
"imageLabelId": 23
"[7]": {5 keys}
"count": 3376
"score": 52.86
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Visual arts"
"imageLabelId": 18
"[8]": {5 keys}
"count": 448
"score": 52.41
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Mythology"
"imageLabelId": 365
"[9]": {5 keys}
"count": 15173
"score": 51.52
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Book"
"imageLabelId": 67
"imageDerivatives": [6 items]
"[0]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/large/5930/3b711ca0ccbdc410a7cdcd53f041f889b4561a9f.jpg"
"width": "533"
"height": "800"
"identifier": "LARGE"
"[1]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/medium/5930/3b711ca0ccbdc410a7cdcd53f041f889b4561a9f.jpg"
"width": "266"
"height": "400"
"identifier": "MEDIUM"
"[2]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/nano/5930/3b711ca0ccbdc410a7cdcd53f041f889b4561a9f.jpg"
"width": "23"
"height": "35"
"identifier": "NANO"
"[3]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/small/5930/3b711ca0ccbdc410a7cdcd53f041f889b4561a9f.jpg"
"width": "100"
"height": "150"
"identifier": "SMALL"
"[4]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/tiny/5930/3b711ca0ccbdc410a7cdcd53f041f889b4561a9f.jpg"
"width": "50"
"height": "75"
"identifier": "TINY"
"[5]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/xlarge/5930/3b711ca0ccbdc410a7cdcd53f041f889b4561a9f.jpg"
"width": "799"
"height": "1200"
"identifier": "XLARGE"
"totalImages": 1
"objectSearchScore": 1.3147148
"opacObjectFieldSets": [40 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "accession_no"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "12272"
"[1]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "name"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art / Greg Bottoms"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "title"
"value": "The colorful apocalypse : journeys in outsider art / Greg Bottoms"
"[2]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "other_name"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[3]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "artist_last_first"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Bottoms, Greg"
"[4]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_date"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "2007"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [2 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "earliest_date"
"value": "2007-01-01Z"
"[1]": {2 keys}
"key": "latest_date"
"value": "2007-12-31Z"
"[5]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_date_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[6]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "edition"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[7]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "brief_desc"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Beginning in Georgia with a trip to Finster's famous Paradise Gardens , Greg Bottoms' journey provides an unparalleled look into the lives and visionary works of some of Finster s contemporaries: the self-taught evangelical artists whose beliefs and oeuvres occupy the gray area between madness and Christian ecstasy. With his prodigious gift for conversation and quietly observant storytelling, Bottoms draws us into the worlds of such figures as William Thomas Thompson, a handicapped ex-millionaire who painted a 300-foot version of the book of Revelation; Norbert Kox, an ex-member of the Outlaws biker gang who now lives as a recluse in rural Wisconsin and paints apocalyptic visual parables; and Myrtice West, who began painting to express the revelatory visions she had after her daughter was brutally murdered. These artists works are as wildly varied as their life stories, but without sensationalizing or patronizing them, Bottoms - one of today s finest young writers - gets at the heart of what they have in common: the struggle to make sense, through art, of their difficult personal histories. In doing so, he weaves a true narrative as powerful as the art of its subjects, a work that is at once an enthralling travelogue, a series of revealing biographical portraits, and a profound meditation on the chaos of despair and the ways in which creativity can help order our lives"
"[8]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "measure_desc"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[9]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "credit_line"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[10]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "curr_loc_status"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "On Shelf"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "curr_loc_status:"On Shelf""
"[11]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "ob_status"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Accessioned"
"[12]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "lender"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[13]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_owner"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[14]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_type"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[15]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_start"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[16]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_expiry"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[17]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[18]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "curr_loc"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Zone N1/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA"
"[19]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "object_type"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "object_type:"Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication""
"[20]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "collection"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Main Collection/Library"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "collection:"Main Collection/Library""
"[21]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Chicago/Illinois/United States of America"
"[22]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_publisher"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "University of Chicago Press"
"[23]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "physical_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "xv, 182 pages ;23 cm."
"[24]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "language"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "English"
"[25]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "isbn_issn"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "9780226066851"
"[26]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "user_sym_1"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "709.0409 BOT"
"[27]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "usual_loc_being"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Zone N1/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA"
"[28]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_class"
"opacObjectFields": [3 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Outsider art/Art/Arts"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Outsider art/Art/Arts""
"[1]": {2 keys}
"value": "Outsider artists/Artists/Persons"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Outsider artists/Artists/Persons""
"[2]": {2 keys}
"value": "Folk art/Art/Arts"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Folk art/Art/Arts""
"[29]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_date"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[30]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_event"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[31]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_period"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[32]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_object"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[33]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_person"
"opacObjectFields": [3 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Howard Finster (American, b.1916, d.2001)"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_person:"Howard Finster (American, b.1916, d.2001)""
"[1]": {2 keys}
"value": "Norbert Kox"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_person:"Norbert Kox""
"[2]": {2 keys}
"value": "Mytrice West"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_person:"Mytrice West""
"[34]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[35]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_person"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[36]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[37]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_event"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "The Museum of Everything #7.; 10 Jun 2017-22 Apr 2018"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "assoc_event:"The Museum of Everything #7.; 10 Jun 2017-22 Apr 2018""
"[38]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_object"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[39]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "user_sym_9"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"relationshipsCollection": {2 keys}
"relationships": [1 items]
"[0]": {4 keys}
"relatedRecords": [1 items]
"[0]": {3 keys}
"slug": "greg-bottoms"
"title": "Greg Bottoms"
"relatedRecordId": "24891"
"relationshipId": "object_prod_pri_person"
"relatedRecordType": "person"
"totalRelatedRecords": 1
"totalRelationships": 1
Topics and Themes