Richmond Hill Convention & Visitor Bureau

There’s a fine tradition of Southern eccentrics who conjure up strange and compelling art works with a generous shot of comedy. Think of bestselling authors such as New Orleans native John Kennedy Toole and Miami-born Karen Russell, or self-taught painters like Summerville, Georgia’s Howard Finster and Savannah’s Panhandle Slim. Now Richmond Hill is buzzing about an artist who, in only a few years of producing work, has his jokey, wacky photo collages hanging across town in places as varied as a bistro, an art gallery and the Richmond Hill City Center. Fame and fortune must be his for the taking, right? Not so fast! Artist Cletus Boatright, Esq. has never been seen in person, wears a mask in self-portraits, and donates his work instead of selling it.

In the past handful of years, an artist known only by the pseudonym Cletus Boatright, Esq. has contributed work anonymously to local art shows, depicting himself in long sleeves, overalls, gloves, and with a face covered by a cartoon drawing of a face. These photo collages riff on popular culture or local art show themes, and include elaborate details and slapstick humor. He – the artist seems to be a male, but since his identity is hidden, a fan can only guess – includes messages encoded in strings of letters and numbers. What’s more, townspeople are charmed by him. Local businesses hang his art in pride of place. Here’s a sample of where to go in Richmond Hill to see original Cletus Boatright, Esq. work.

Start with Cletus’s Family “Lore”

A suitable first stop on any tour of Boatright’s oeuvre begins where any visit to Richmond Hill should – at the Visitor Center, which houses the Arts on the Coast Gallery (10750 Ford Ave.). Frequent gallery shows include local artists’ work in various media, including sculpture, photography and painting. Hanging on the back wall of the gallery, Cletus Boatright, Esq.’s “Lore” is a computer-assisted photo collage that has so many of Boatright’s hallmarks: It’s a play on another work of art (in this case, the iconic 1930 painting “American Gothic” by Grant Wood). It has hidden messages (“Cletus really enjoys being at home” is faintly stitched into the rug). There are ironic visual jokes (the non-traditional family shown in the photos runs counter to Wood’s conservative family portrait). And of course, there’s the artist himself, dressed in signature overalls with every inch of skin covered, and visage obscured by a bemused cartoon face.

“I have my ideas about who the artist is, but I don’t know if I even want to know for sure,” said one onlooker the day I visited. “Then it would spoil some of the fun.”

Decode the Artist’s Message

Also hanging in the Visitor’s Center (currently on loan from Sarah Volker), the Boatright work named “White, Black, and Read All Over” is perhaps his wordiest work to date. Rendered in black, white and red tones, the photo collage on canvas shows Cletus holding a paint roller and winking at the viewer; it arrived at AOC ArtNite with a note thanking Volker for “her diligent efforts at promoting Arts on the Coast,” saying she should be gifted the painting after the show closed “to proudly display among her personal treasured works of art.” Deepening the mystery, Boatright included a four-line rhymed key to deciphering the coded words circling the painting’s central image.

After speculating about just who and what this joker is all about, pick up some brochures about sightseeing in the area, grab a local map and ask a Visitor’s Center guest specialist about what’s happening in town.

Make Room for Southern Fare

Next up, it’s time for a little poetry – in this case, it’s not the dull recitation you may remember from school days, but instead a Boatright work at Bubba’s Bistro (3881 US 17). As you walk in the door, you’ll see the painting titled “Poetry” hanging next to a cabinet displaying a folk art rooster made with rebar and a wooden sign declaring “Raised on Sweet Tea & Jesus.” The painting’s accompanying wall text reads: “Most small towns have a mystery; ours leaves artwork on porches.” For years, Cletus Boatright has delivered paintings, stories, clues, and enough mischief to keep Richmond Hill guessing. Then again, if we figured it out, half the fun would be gone.

Maybe so, but there’s wry humor in the image that makes this viewer wonder where the pointed humor comes from. The tableau shows farmer Cletus using a whiteboard filled with misspellings as he teaches a pig, rooster, cow and hound to read. Is the artist making fun of education? Is he making fun of rural attitudes about education? Is he making fun of outsiders’ views of rural education? Or is he arguing here for extreme animal rights, declaring that all sentient beings have a right to “reedin,” as the painting spells it?

It’s a lot to chew on, and, arguably, Bubba’s is the perfect place for that. Discuss the art with Bubba’s friendly servers as they bring you house favorites, including bougie maters (fried green tomatoes topped with house pimento cheese and applewood bacon), Southern popcorn (fried chopped okra with spicy ranch dressing), and sensai shrimp (shell-on shrimp cooked in shallots, herbs and Coors beer).

See the artist “go Hollywood”

Finally, there’s a Boatright artwork for film lovers at the Richmond Hill City Center (520 Cedar St., in J.F. Gregory Park). Named “Magnificent,” this work references the 1960 Hollywood western “The Magnificent Seven,” depicting the movie’s gunfighters posed to one side of an Old West village, and multiple overall-clad Boatright figures moving around the other side of the street. One Boatright is toting picture frames and has dropped a canvas; another is watching the bedlam from a shop; and a third is peeking out from jail. Interestingly, the Boatright figures are smiling, facing the viewer, with no regard for the movie tough guys and their drawn guns.

Framed next to the work, which you can peep in the City Center’s high-ceilinged entrance hall, there’s a letter signed by Boatright that accompanied the work when it was anonymously given to the AOC Artnite show, on view through the summer. The letter asks that, at the completion of the exhibit, the work be given to Gary and Jennifer Breon at Plum’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop “in grateful appreciation for their commitment to keeping a local mom-and-pop business alive and well…both their food and atmosphere are truly ‘Magnificent’!!”. If you see this work at the City Center, be sure to take a walk through the halls to enjoy the rest of the contributing artists’ pieces; if you’re taking it in at Plum’s, get a scoop of your favorite flavor in a cake cone.

Peep a Playful Pinup Homage

Boatright’s love of nostalgia and classic films is evident in “See Breeze,” a photograph on canvas that shows the artist aiming a whirring fan at Marilyn Monroe in her famous white dress scene from 1955’s The Seven Year Itch. It hangs in the truck bay at Fire Station One on Ford Avenue (Boatright gave the work to the firefighters in appreciation of “their valued service to the community”); the fire chief says the public is welcome to visit. In his accompanying artist statement, Boatright muses:

“Nostalgia, remember when pinup girl calendars regularly adorned the walls of small local businesses. From ‘mom and pop’ quick stop markets to your neighborhood gas station, they provided a ‘risqué’ advertisement for everything from new cars and tractors to candy and soda. They teased the imagination up to the threshold of slightly naughty, but not a step beyond.”

Toast to Boatright's Philosophy

End your day with a cool drink enjoying the sunset over the docks at Fish Tales at Fort McAllister Marina, where you'll find a final piece that offers still more clues to Boatright’s identity. Here, our friend wears a snappy suit, red bow tie, and immaculate white shirt, which is a real feat, considering he's balanced atop a tractor in a muddy ditch. There's a bucket beside him, perhaps to collect tadpoles for fishing. His flat cartoon face winks at the viewer. The text reads "The Road to Happiness Ain't Paved." So, is the artist telling us that he likes to go off-roading, fish, or just enjoy rural surroundings? Or is he signaling something deeper, messaging that life isn’t a smooth highway? (Call your server for another round, and let us know when you figure it out.)

What’s next for Cletus Boatright, Esq.? If Richmond Hill and its arts community have any say, the artist will be in residence in perpetuity. And the mystery? It promises to only deepen.