Ozark Giraffe
Vernacular architecture made by Ozarkers—stone-stacked structures with wide mortar—are often painted white to resemble giraffes. By advancing these handmade, owner-built homes of whimsical design, artist Chuck Davis seeks to help reverse the stigma of Ozark people.
For decades, visual representation by mass media has marginalized Ozark culture. These intuitive and inventive designs covered by field stone are similarly stereotyped and victimized, dating to early Ozark explorers in the 1850s.
Let us celebrate and reclaim a style of Ozark architecture that’s often misrepresented and overlooked.
421 W Persimmon Street, Rogers AR
Carthage Missouri Municipal Park (demolished April 2023)
Pump House – E 20th Street, Joplin MO
5689 E 20th Street, Joplin MO
Roller Rink – Carthage Missouri Municipal Park
Wilson Park, Fayetteville AR
1300 North D Street, Rogers AR (condemned and restored)
628 E Henri De Tonti Blvd, Springdale AR
609 Mission Street, Fayetteville AR
524 Spring Street, Rogers, AR (badly damaged in tornado)
Herman's Rib House, Fayetteville AR (painted-over stone)
Pig Bird Bath – Herman's Rib House, Fayetteville AR
— Notes & exhibitions
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01
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September 2023 — 'The Avoidance of Othering: Ozark Giraffes' presented at the Ozarks Symposium, Missouri State University of West Plains.
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02
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January 2024 — Innovation Grant awarded by Art+Everywhere to continue elevating vernacular giraffe-style homes.
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03
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June 2024 — Mario Quiroz (Cambridge MA) became Artist in Residence; project deliverable: 'As I saw the Ozarks.'
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04
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Oct 2024 — Davis & Quiroz erected a fence-wall exhibit at Ozark Beer, downtown Rogers.
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05
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Nov–Dec 2024 — 'Current Works 2024,' Leedy Volkus Gallery, Kansas City. Juror — Adam Finkelston.
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06
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January 2025 — Art+Everywhere Retreat at MASS MoCA, North Adams MA. 'Roots/Wings' exhibit.
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07
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July 2025 — Artist in Residence, Culture Splash, Gallery RAG, Rocky Neck Artist Colony, Gloucester MA. 'Trace Light: The Archive in Motion,' curated by Tracy Hayes.
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08
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October 2025 — Arkansas Arts Council Individual Art Fellowship for Community Engagement Art.
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09
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Nov–Dec 2025 — 'Ozark Giraffes at Mount Sequoyah,' Sequoyah Gallery, Creative Spaces, Fayetteville AR (solo).
— Collect
Collect your Ozark Giraffe.
Individual prints — 11×17 archival rag. Edition of 5. $300.
Silver gelatin prints on request.
