Overview

A compelling and inspiring look at the audacity and tenacity it took for small town, self-taught sculptor Wayne Porter to propel himself from obscurity to national and international attention as a metal artist by planting his massive sculptures on the South Dakota prairie. How did he get the grit to overcome the odds to create his own sculpture park with a bull centerpiece as big as the faces on Mount Rushmore and be listed as one of the top roadside attractions in America? Wayne reveals everything from his art to his influences, his business planning, his struggles and how he first had to overcome himself before he could accept and realize his dream of creating Porter Sculpture Park. The stories behind the sculptures range from funny to thought-provoking and movingly poignant. A contemporary artist living in the 20th and 21st century, the metal sculptor's welded work has been described as folk art, outsider art, and surreal assemblage art. The book details how he built his large-scale sculptures, often using found materials such as scrap metal, discarded household items and farm equipment. It also examines some of Wayne Porter's poetry, which features both lighthearted themes and deeply emotional poems about the co-existence of joy and pain, creativity and reality, and life and death and eternity. The Power of the Bull is an inspirational story of creative genius and indefatigable perseverance. Current and captivating, this non-fiction book is an authorized biography filled with stunning art and photography written with inside insight by a journalist, photographer and artist who returned to her roots and wrote a book about a talent she's known since pre-school. With 50 artful photos, it's a visual feast for art lovers, a how-to/can-do motivational example for aspiring art entrepreneurs, and an encouraging narrative for anyone who's ever had a dream. The book includes a sculpture index to easily find the story behind each work of art and can serve as a source for a self-guided tour for tourists at this outdoor South Dakota art museum along Interstate 90.

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As an artist herself, Sue Speck knows something about art and, more importantly, she knows Wayne Porter. They're from the same hometown and first met when they were about four or five-years-old when Wayne's mother was her babysitter. Sue left the state to become a journalist, working as a writer and editor at an international news service in Chicago, Illinois, and then as a television reporter in Houston, Texas. She returned to her South Dakota roots for several years to help and be with her elderly parents, who were always supportive of Wayne Porter's art and kept her informed about his latest projects. When Sue went back to her childhood home, she took a fresh look at Wayne's work and decided it was time to share his sculptures and his life through her story-telling and photography.

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