Responding to Recent Posts
I'm afraid I don't know how to comment individually on the group posts on this blog so I am responding here, see questions and comment by your initials...:
KD: Fresh Eyes. Love the concept, distracted by budget. Concentrate on one green space first? If so then where is available? And how does the Manassas and Madison Park fail that our green space would not? Or the Poplar Manassas Park – how could the Edge garden be different or better? Fremont Seattle comes to mind where they first attracted a crowd by being funky and different and actually somewhat navel-gazing. “The Center of the Universe, they call themselves. It makes me think that we could take the concept of “THE ABSOLUTE CENTER OF THE UNITED STATES” and develop from there, even if it is not entirely geographically true, it is internationally marketable and could draw tourism fo dollars if done correctly. Forgive my business brain. My art brain also says this is a mega-fun conept also. Begin with that idea of CENTER, think of the European city center logo, which looks like a jawbreaker candy or Jupiter. Then apply all things Edgy or Memphis’y to this. ART. MUSIC. CARS. And the park is themed of these things. The one in Fremont Seattle was a trashed television garden – back when tv’s were ginormous cubes and the like. Thanks to gentrification and the Seattle weather this tv garden is gone and Amazon now occupies the “Center of the Universe” and that may happen everywhere, but a fun junk/repurposed art/music/auto garden could be AMAZING!!! I love the idea of an Auto Parts Garden.
LW: Living Walls Survey
Interesting pics. I love vertical gardens. This concept was suggested by the Memfix folks too as highly recommended for the neighborhood. I am interesting in seeing if we can find some examples specific to use of chain link fence since that has also been noted as an unfortunately necessary eye-sore in the neighborhood. Have you encountered any chain link examples? And also what is indigenous that would not require a misting system or irrigation? Anything? Is irrigation cost-prohibitive. Quiet down business brain!
MP: Music IS the healing force of the universe. And also love.
Love the turntable man-hole cover. Love also the idea of Banksy’esque simple stencils of meaningful ideas, relevant to our soul as a city. Have you had any visions of Memphian stencil designs or messages?
CP: Survey. Survey. Is anybody listening? Available space.
I love this Kandinskian sketch of available spaces. Thank you for this. I bet you took snapshots of these places too. Which ones do we have authority to work with? Or are we first identifying what we want and then proposing it? I would naturally prefer to invest in something that will not be developed one year later. This I’m sure is felt by the developers and folks investing in our work, so do we know for these areas which we think will have the most visual impact? I like the Kudzus to Union landscape for instance, and if we know it is available and no plans to develop, it could be an excellent spot for re-routing folks accidentally traveling Union, up to the Edge center instead. Through an auto parts garden slope!!! And I think I owe you an answer to a survey question you sent to the group. I answered it in my mind when I read it weeks ago. Will find and respond!!!
KW:Edge Blight
I wonder if the Sam Phillips recoding studio will be a dentists office now? I’m not sure it’s a facelift for the studio – sadly Knox has not been well and I haven’t kept up to know if they are still functioning as a studio. Does anyone know any news? Thank you for summarizing thoughts from the meeting, and for being an Edge Assett. ;)
Are they equal or hierarchy? ART MUSIC CARS
That’s all my catching up for this moment. Peace out. r*
R: KD here: I am with you on the verticle gardens business mind. I've researched a little bit and Memphis is an extremely tough climate to grow anything that doesn't require misting because is does get so hot here. There are some succulents that can take the heat without water but they can't really survive the winter or at least not while staying green. As far as the Sam Phillips recording studio I met the Knox and his brother? the other day and they are definetly still functioning and fixing up the studio.