When I interviewed Louisville artist Jeff Gaither a few months ago for an article for Louisville.com, "Louisville's Jeff Gaither's 'art for the criminally insane' goes local, gets fine," the first piece of furniture I noticed in his house was an electric chair.

Jeff Gaither didn't offer me a seat when I entered his home and studio in South Louisville.

As the first piece of furniture I noticed was a life-sized replica of an electric chair, which tied in well with the rest of his home's decor (think a muted Pee-wee's Playhouse, only evil), I wasn't offended.

But interior design by Tales from the Crypt rather than Southern Living wasn't much of a surprise given Gaither's portfolio:

Along with activism, art was added to the Forecastle Festival in 2003.

"Louisville has such a prominent art community, in many ways I think it's larger than the music community here. I'm friends with a lot of people there so why not invite them into the fold?" said Forecastle Festival Captain J.K. McKnight, explaining why he gave art such a central role in the celebration.