Talking Trash

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date. No time to say goodbye, Hello, I'm late I'm late I'm late! It can be difficult even for artists to slow down enough sometimes to really take in our surroundings. Even though my studio is in the Edge and so I see it everyday I don't often slow down and really take it in. On my first forage into doing this I invited long time friend and resident Ron Hayes (nephew of Issac Hayes) to my studio to describe how he sees the neighborhood. Even though his eyesight is greatly diminished he still gets around Downtown and the Edge and all over Memphis, walking and riding the bus. He can often be seen dressed quite stylishly. He and I often agree on things, philosophical and pragmatic. He said he would like to see less trash in the neighborhood and better sidewalks. Many of the people who live in the Borda Towers where he lives are in wheel chairs and after our talk I walked around photographing the sidewalks and looking at them more carefully. He does have a point.

There was lots of trash to be seen everywhere but especially in this little overgrown niche created under a billboard between the sidewalk, a chainlink fence and a fallen wall.

I believe quality of life starts with the little things like cleanliness and safety so it's hard for me to get past these to think about more lofty ideals like art with basic issues that need to be addressed.

It made me really happy to see that someone had started a garden in the planters over the viaduct. There are strawberries, brussell sprouts, okra, tomatoes, and beans. I've always wanted to plant things there but wasn't sure how I would water in the summer or if the city had plans. Glad to see someone taking the initiative. There was some talk by a prominent real estate mogel of tearing down these beds. I hope we can prevent that from happening. I'd love to see them planted more with mosaics on them.

I'm looking forward to slowing down again and finding out more about this fascinating neighborhood.