folkartwork

M.T. LIGGETT Political Sculptures (1989-2017) // Located in Mullinville, Kansas off along US Highway 400 and Kansas Highway 54; over 600 small and large metal totems and whirligigs lampooning politicians; local, state and national officials; international figures; or anyone who caught his critical eye

“I can’t make you mad, only you can make you mad.”

M.T. LIGGETT

What can be said about M.T. Liggett and his art that hasn’t already been said? He’s been a fixture, known by some as friendly old man — known by others as an ill-tempered gruff, by many people in Mullinville, Kansas for decades. His artwork, or the message his artwork has is not for everyone, especially if you were the one who was put up on a totem. Although, as he said, he wouldn’t waste his time making art about someone he didn’t like.

Democrats think he’s a Republican. He has a totem about how dumb George Bush is and to bring back Slick Willie (Bill Clinton). Republican’s think he’s a Democrat. He has a totem in the shape of a swastika named Hillary Clinton. Libertarians might want to claim him but he would have told you that’s not his bag either.

M.T.’s workshop was an old barn with a dirt floor, around the corner from his pasture gallery. His tools were a plasma cutter and an arc welder. His material was metal: junked farm machinery, car parts, road signs, railroad equipment. “If I just think of something, I make it,” he told us during one visit, chalking the design on the metal, then setting to work with the plasma torch. “You draw it out, cut it out, and that’s it.”

Roadside America

One of the most accomplished comedians of all-time, Jerry Seinfeld, does observational comedy that has no real message — so he says. He basks in the glory that his “art” is really not “art” at all. I take great comfort in knowing M.T. Liggett would agree with me and think that is kinda bullshit.

“Most people, they ain’t got no guts. You gotta have a strong opinion or you’re nothing.”

M.t. LIGGETT

All art has a message, I think, whether you’re intending for a message or not. Or at least it should. On the surface, the message is pretty clear in M.T. Liggett’s art environment. It is not subtle, it’s not trying to hide, and it is also not pointed at any one party, person, or idea. It’s all over the place.

It’s not for everyone and it’s probably not politically correct. But if you look past the art and at the man, it’s an impressive as all hell. His totems numbering what feels like a thousand stretches for what felt like miles down a lonesome highway somewhere near the middle of nowhere Kansas. How did one 70-year-old man do all of this, all by himself?

M.T. Liggett was a quintessential midwestern old man. A war veteran, foul mouthed, hard working man who was not afraid to speak his mind, all while wearing his bibs and messy grey hair. Like most of these old men that I am fortunate to know, they sure don’t like being told what to do, and they don’t like people acting stupid. M.T. Liggett hated hypocrisy. He was not a perfect man and he wouldn’t tell you he was, but he was a man with a soft spot who believed in common sense and it seemed like he cared about almost everyone, as long as you weren’t a hypocrite. Then you were getting a totem made about you.

Looking past the message and to the art, it’s astonishing. When you are there in that field the message gets lost a bit. You’re too busy counting the dozens of whirligigs you see or laughing a totem’s head in the toilet. You try to make sense of the swastika’s with the words ‘Auschwitz’ and ‘Waco’ next to them. You try to figure out who the people are with their names on the little hearts next to the fence. You’re not sure if the ghost of M.T. Liggett may appear at any moment to explain to you how he did all of this.

M.T. Liggett loved his art and he left his mark in Mullinville, Kansas.

You may not like the messages. A lot of people probably don’t like the man. HE was not perfect or often polite, but M.T. Liggett didn’t believed anyone could do a thing if they just did a thing. And he did a thing, one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen. As he once said, “That shit will stand there forever.”

I sure hope so.

For more photos of art environments across the Midwest, check out the FolkArtwork Art Environments page.