Research Catalog

Title

The True Gospel Preached Here / Bruce West ; Foreword by Tom Rankin.

Author

West, Bruce, 1956-

Publication

Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2014]

Supplementary Content

Cover image

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Rankin, Tom

Description

xxviii, 65 pages : color illustrations; 27 cm

Summary

"Bruce West's color photographs document the spiritual and creative work of Reverend H.D. and Margaret Dennis, a self-proclaimed preacher/artist/architect and his wife in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This elderly couple devoted more than twenty years of their lives to converting Margaret's Grocery Store into a one-of-a-kind nondenominational church. Guided by visions from God, their elaborate transformation of Margaret's Grocery involved the construction of several towers, the creation of the Ark of the Covenant containing tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, and new religious iconography. A sign at the entrance of Margaret's Grocery announced: "Welcome Jews and Gentile This Church Open 24 Hours a Day." Another sign promised: "The True Gospel Preached Here." The towers and the exterior of the former store were covered in bands of high-gloss red, white, blue, green, yellow and pink paint. The interior walls and ceilings of the store and an old school bus were encrusted with religious artifacts, Mardi Gras beads, plastic flowers, hubcaps, and flashing Christmas lights. The Reverend used his church as a roadside attraction to lure visitors, a site where he could deliver fiery sermons and orations about the need to "practice living perfectly" and the ceaseless pursuit of wisdom and knowledge. West's photographs are intimate and transparent, offering insights into the Reverend and Margaret's love of God and their love for one another, their commitment to their work, the role of spirituality in southern culture, folk art and creativity, the joys and demands of the ascetic life, and the process of growing older"--

Uniform Title

Photographs. Selections

Alternative Title

Photographs.

Subject

• Dennis, H. D., 1916-2012 > Portraits
• Dennis, Margaret, 1915-2009 > Portraits
• Dennis, H. D., 1916-2012 x Homes and haunts > Mississippi > Vicksburg > Pictorial works
• Dennis, Margaret, 1915-2009 > Homes and haunts > Mississippi > Vicksburg > Pictorial works
• West, Bruce, 1956-
• Architectural photography > Mississippi > Vicksburg > Pictorial works
• Fantastic architecture > Mississippi > Vicksburg > Pictorial works
• Outsider art > Mississippi > Vicksburg > Pictorial works
• Vicksburg (Miss.) > Buildings, structures, etc. > Pictorial works

Note

• Schomburg copy with dust jacket.

Call Number

Sc+ F 14-476

ISBN

• 9781617039584 (hardback)
• 1617039586 (hardback)
• 9781617039591 (ebook) (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2013032342

OCLC

861554467

Author

West, Bruce, 1956-

Title

The True Gospel Preached Here / Bruce West ; Foreword by Tom Rankin.

Publisher

Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2014]

Type of Content

text

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Connect to:

Cover image

Local Subject

Black author.

Added Author

Rankin, Tom, writer of foreword.

Research Call Number

Sc+ F 14-476