Like fellow artists Noah Purifoy and Ed Kienholz, John Outterbridge was a pioneering figure in the California assemblage art movement, giving new life to discarded junk and urban detritus by incorporating them into his artwork. He was also a seminal member of the African-American art scene in Los Angeles, serving as the artistic director of the Communicative Arts Academy in Compton from 1969 to 1975 and as director of the Watts Towers Art Center from 1975 to 1992. Rag Man presents work from the last 15 years made from tools, twigs, bone, and hair, all resembling talismanic objects, as well as a selection of important earlier work.
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