John Vivolo Biography

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Born December 6, 1886, Accri, Italy. No formal education. Married Teresa Palambo, 1907; she died 1931. Four daughters, three sons. Died March 28, 1987, Hartford, Connecticut.

GENERAL BACKGROUND

John Vivolo carved winsome and appealing wood figures that are characterized by their welcoming, outstretched arms.

Vivolo was born in the impoverished village of Accri in southern Italy and sent out work in the wheat fields when he was only eight years old. When he was fourteen, his family shipped him off to America, where he was taken by a cousin to make his fortune in a mining camp in West Virginia.

After three years Vivolo “improved” his lot by joining an Italian railroad construction road gang in Maryland. He escaped from its armed guards as soon as he could and made his way to New York City, where he became a bakery delivery boy, pulling a cart designed for a horse.

By 1906 Vivolo had saved two hundred dollars and spent it on passage home to Italy, where he again did farm work. He married and returned to America in 1907 with his bride. The couple went t Hartford, Connecticut, where misfortune seemed to follow them; their first house burned to the ground and the second was condemned after a flood. It was not until 1950 that Vivolo finally completed the home in Bloomfield (a suburb of Hartford) where he spent the remainder of his life. Even then, however, his troubles did not seem to be over. In 1980, the Catholic diocese of Hartford sent a bulldozer to level Vivolo’s wife’s grave in order to make grass cutting easier. He stood in front of the grave day after day until the diocese finally gave in.

After Vivolo returned to the United States, he spent most of his working life holding down several jobs at a time in order to support his large family. Bricklaying, carpentry, and demolition work were his specialties, and he worked for various construction companies in the Hartford area. Vivolo finally retired in 1957 with a small Social Security pension.

When he died, John Vivolo was more than one hundred years old.

ARTISTIC BACKGROUND

According to his daughter Jennie Maraschiello, who lived with Vivolo after his retirement, “he just started going down into the basement and carving up firewood” Once started, Vivolo devoted an enormous amount of energy to making carvings that he called “his children”; he carved day and night, fearful that he did not have time to make all the “children” that he had in his head.

At first, Vivolo simply gave his carvings away, but after a few years he began selling them to supplement his income. Vivolo’s work was discovered by Florence Laffal, the publisher of Folk Art Finder; he has been featured in this magazine, and his work has been used as its logo and in promotional materials.

SUBJECTS AND SOURCES

Vivolo referred to his sculpture as his children, but they were all of himself. In spite of the hardships in his life, he was a companionable man, and his figures repeat his characteristic gesture of welcome—arms outstretched as though waiting to hug. Vivolo’s “central theme became people—riding (on horses and chickens), working, playing music, smoking, or simply standing. Outstretched arms became his trademark.”

In addition to his figures, Vivolo made about twenty large whirligigs that have wind-activated propellers. They depict men in action—slaughtering chickens, carving wood, or other such activities. He also carved a number of smaller animals, particularly brightly painted chickenlike birds, which are interesting but do not have the character of his other pieces.

MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

Vivolo used fireplace logs—oak, peach, birch, and pine—for his work, creating pieces with an ax and various hand tools. He incorporated cutouts from tin cans and other objects for fitting.

His early carvings were monotones, painted with multiple layers of latex house paint. In the 1970s he switched to bright colors but then returned to monotones as he grew older.

Vivolo made about four hundred carvings altogether. His figures range in size from 8 to 10 inches to about 4 feet tall; the whirligigs are somewhat larger. Those remaining when he died were boxed and stored by his heirs.

ARTISTIC RECOGNITION

John Vivolo’s figure and his whirligigs are spirited, original, and appealing. They have been shown at various museums, where they rarely fail to delight viewers.

This entry was taken directly from the “Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American FOLK ART and ARTISTS,” by Chuck and Jan Rosenak. (Abbeville Press, NYC, 1990).