Slideshow: The “weird guitars” of Freeman Vines
April is International Guitar Month! This year, we’re celebrating this foundational instrument – and the selection of short film FREEMAN VINES to the 2025 Tribeca Festival – by looking back at some of our favorite creations by the late artist, who passed away last month near his home in Fountain, NC.
A self-taught sculptor and luthier, Freeman Vines (1942-2025) spent more than 50 years building guitars in search of the sound, a singular mystical tone that had haunted him since his youth. In his quest to make an instrument capable of producing it, he crafted more than 100 guitars and other art pieces from found materials: the steps of an old tobacco barn, the soundboard of a disassembled Steinway piano, and, most famously, wood from a tree where young Black men had been lynched near his hometown in eastern North Carolina. Freeman’s works and creative process are documented in the book and museum exhibition Hanging Tree Guitars.
View some of our favorite “weird guitars” and other pieces by Freeman Vines below.
Use the next/previous buttons to view a series of images and captions.
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