Columbia, SC (WLTX) If you are from Columbia, South Carolina, or have ever visited the area, you have surely seen the art work of Blue Sky.
He's been in the area most of his life, creating art and sculptures. He calls himself the grandfather of public art.
He says he has known what he wanted to be, more or less, for his entire life.
Blue Sky says, "My mother says that when I was a child, she was wearing a diamond ring, and in the sun, the diamond ring would do prismatic colors and things... she said I would be so fascinated by it."
His name back then, was Warren Edward Johnson, which he said was a "fine name," but in 1974, he legally change his name to match his inner spirit.
"I was doing a lot of LSD back then, as were all my friends. It's probably got a bad reputation. but nevertheless, it will take the cobwebs out of your mind.", he says.
The name he chose for himself is "Blue Sky." And the pieces of art located throughout Columbia represent a lifetime of work.
"I'm the grandfather of public art," says Sky with a chuckle. "All these other muralists are young guys."
Doctors have told him he's on the autism spectrum, which he says is beneficial to his creative side.
"When we're walking around and talking to other people, we presume that they see the same things that we do... No, we don't all see the same things," Sky explains.
Take for instance, the "Neverbust" chain, a huge piece of art, hidden in plain sight. It "connects" two buildings right in the heart of downtown.
"Now you see, they walked right under it and didn't see it because most people don't look up," Sky says, as we stand almost directly underneath the sculpture, which hangs 26 feet in the air. Dozens walk by never even glancing up from their phones. Some do, but most don't.
Blue Sky he also has a bit of a rebellious streak. The chain was surreptitiously put up in the middle of the night, 3AM to be exact, without permission from the city.
"I said we're gonna go in there at 3 o'clock in the morning on a Sunday morning, and we're gonna come in like a swat team. We're gonna get up there and we gonna put that chain up there and it's gonna be there when everybody wakes up Monday morning. The first thing the city said, they came down and said that's gotta come down." recalls Sky.
The city eventually approved the chain to stay up, even though it's location itself was and is a bit of a jab at the city's art scene, a fact Blue Sky takes great pride in.
"Very much. Especially since it's across the street from that," Sky says, as he points to the Columbia Museum of Art, located exactly across the street. "That's the museum, where they won't show my work."
Blue Sky says he thinks they should represent more local artists in a space like the art museum.
It was quite amazing on Monday morning when people came and," Sky makes a gesture with his hands as if hanging the chain again in his mind, and he takes a good long laugh at the thought.
But he's not all rebellion. He says there also humor in all his work, including a 40 foot tall fire hydrant on Taylor Street.
"It's got a sign here that says 'no dog within 50 feet," he laughs.
But he also says he has afforded his life, solely based on his art. He boasts no powerful friends in the art world, and no thoughts of profit.
Sky says, "I don't know anybody. My work has to rest entirely on it's own merit, and generate the excitement on its own merit because I don't go out and politic. I don't try to convince anybody. I don't even try to convince anybody to sell my my work. I don't even like to sell my work... I wouldn't know how."
He simply loves to create art, the bigger, the better.
I ask hims what his favorite canvas is, he says, "I'm definitely a mural painter. I don't like working small.
He isn't humble about his talent, but he also isn't pretentious about it either. He just wants to share his art with people who want to see it, and he's been doing it all his life.
He says, "When people see a work of my art, I want them to smile, laugh even, chuckle. Then you got a response, you know. We are immersed in a world of beauty, all around us. I'm not putting anything in it, I'm just clarifying it."
If you'd like to see more stories like this, I am always looking for interesting, compelling, and inspiring stories to tell. Reach me at cdelcamp@wltx.com