James Croak

[1] At the age of 15 he was a recognized musical prodigy and studied under Andrés Segovia, the virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist.

[1] At the age of sixteen he gave a series of concerts as a part of the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City.

At this point much of his work was done with the medium of aluminum in a method similar to that of Frank Stella, although Croak is believed to have developed his personal technique himself.

[1] According to the artist, the material was developed out of necessity, stating that in 1985, "I wanted to cast a full-size self–portrait, but I couldn't afford bronze, so I walked down the street to an empty lot, dug up dirt, put it in a wheelbarrow, took it home, mixed it with glue, and pressed it into the plaster mold.

An additional essay was published in the book Afterwords, a compilation put together by Salon.com featuring the works of its contributors, which Croak has been one on occasion.

[8] He is also an online contributor and conference participant to the non-profit intellectual organization Edge.org,[9] the membership of which is composed of highly accomplished thinkers in both the arts and sciences from different corners of the world.

[11] According to art critic Carlos Suarez de Jesus, themes involved in Croak's work often include death, social instability, and the finite nature of human life.

[20] Eighth, once set, the pieces of the sculpture are then reassembled and glued together with the same dirt and binder mixture with which they were created.

James Croak's Pegasus Some Loves , an example of his combination of taxidermy and found objects, was created in 1983.
James Croak's Study for the Beast, an example of his dirt sculpture, was created in 1987.
James Croak's Dirt Baby , an example of his dirt sculpture, was created in 2000.
James Croak's Dirt Man with Shovel , an example of his dirt sculpture, was created in 1996.