Vision of a Great Gulf on Planet Hell - 1980

by Howard Finster

American 1916 - 2001

I saw this painting at the National Gallery of Art in the Outliers and American Vanguard Art Exhibition. It is so great that a few cents of our taxes and money given to this museum allow everyone to learn and experience art.

The tag next to the piece says:
"A preacher since age sixteen. Howard Finster turned to painting in the late 1970s after receiving a vision, and he soon came to believe that he could disseminate his apocalyptic message more effectively by making art than through any sermon he might deliver. Scenes of hellfire and damnation galvanized his imagination, but so too did worldly figurative guides like Elvis Presley and Henry Ford, whom he adopted as instructive guides along what he viewed as the treacherous path to salvation. Finster's vast if canny ambition, coupled with the breadth of his activity, ultimately made him one of the most renowned self-taught artist of his day. In the 1980s, when neo-expressionist syples and neo-privitivizing forms came to the fore in contemporary painting, his work briefly segued into mainstream art circles. Also a musician in his own right, he is better known for album covers he designed for the bands Talking Heads and, fellow Georgians, R.E.M."

This colorful painting is full of dragons, serpents, demons and people being tormented. He imagines hell as a separate planet. In some of his text he seems to make an attempt at explaining how a bottomless pit can exist.

Some of the statements on the painting say:
When you climb to top of hell its just going down again.
If Jesus cast 7 devils out of one woman how many devils is in the world.
Some want to pay a dime to stay out of hell but when they get there they would offer everything in hell to get out
No food in hell.
If yo make it to hell you can say howard told you about it on earth 1980
Hell will will make a log of believers who will never quit believing without a bible or a preacher or church or god
Devil of death who kills and laughs about it. I will be glad when his horns hang in the stones of hellfast.
I will not except hell for my destine if you do you are a fool.
The devil has run out of work has nothing to do but kick around in hell
This planet is a circle of no end not even a dead end

The sun never shines here only firelight and darkness
No weapons to fight with in hell
Time to stay out of hell is today
Feeling all over hell
Clocks are useless here
No way out
Serpents, Saten and devils will be cursed by those they deceived
Shadows dim and dark
Falling
Memory
Thirst in every corner
Senter of the pit
One endless day of night seens

Warning is forgotten
Bible helpless in hell
Devil of power he wants to rule out the christians from the whole earth he will have nothing left but hell fire.
People who made a fatle mestake
Glory of sex demolished under his feet
1000 and 712
Crying
No rest
Devil of the food plant live the starvation war of all times when money want buy but cast into the street.
Liquid fire

No one likes it down here
Glare of red
Hell Below
No water

Those who dont believe in hell will wind up in hell
His war is lost in hell
Repeating falling on surface of a turning planet of hell makes it bottomless
Desire is that no one joins them here even with plenty of room.
When the devils fire want melt a snow ball one million miles from heavn he will pull in his horns
Hell is eturnal if yo burn up or dont burn up
Devil of fear who destirbs the whole world and threatens the peace of earth people may God cast him soon into the lake of fire

Hell is a place to go to when no one hast to go
Jesus dont put people in hell he dont take them out but he will keep you from going there if you hear him
Saten forced to stay with those he deceived
No fool should gambl the risk of hell when he is told how to avoid it take Christ by Faith