3 Bells to let the light in

3 bells.

The Madison Avenue bridge over the RxR, East of Danny Thomas

3 brass railway bells rise high overhead on tall posts, each flanked by a[n existing] bench and a placard. The first bell is rung and the placard tells a story “Below lies the Memphis-Charleston Railroad of 1865. Who built it? ....” The second bell is rung and the placard tells a story “Rock’n’Roll was born in 1954 in this neighborhood. Who’s hits were made? Who's weren't?...” The third bell is rung and the placard tells the story "these cracks in our history, in our souls, we are all broken, that’s how the light gets in...”

Original railway bells weigh nearly 200# and are quite expensive, so I recommend a replica as pictured, or more recently produced bells. (usbells.com was recommended by the National Ornamental Metals Museum)

The path requires much repair, and these repairs would be made with gold pigment mixed in to mortar, creating a more mod aesthetic and alluding to the Japanese cracked bowl, repaired with gold. [poem attached at end of proposal]

The music history of the Edge is well-known, as is the story of an amazing young white talent who popularized Black music on a grand scale, a story told to hundreds of ears daily at Sun Studios. The lost pieces of that story are echoes. Also sharing Cat’s research on the Memphis- Charleston Railroad (completed in 1857) the first railroad in the US to link the Atlantic Ocean with the Mississippi River, a major factor in the growth of Memphis over other Mississippi River towns. The lost pieces of that story also echo. This is a relevant and meaningful solution for this mysterious and awkward gateway bridge to the Edge.

MATERIALS

3 tall steel poles with welded nut mounts. 3 railway bells with pull cords threaded through welded rings. 3 large brass finished placards & bolts. Bricks, mortar, gold powder, gold paint.

POSSIBLE TIMELINE

1 month (October/November) consultations, permissions, material testing, design. 1 month (Dec/Jan) fabrication, gatheries supplies, making recommended repairs to walkway and planters. 1 month testing. 1 month installation & tweak. April launch date.

MAINTENANCE

Pressure washing, & any structural repair. Long term maintenance might include replacing the long rope every 8-10 years if worn, and occasional cleaning of the placards for pollen build-up. This area requires some “park” maintenance. This proposal couples well with the proposal for Cat Peña’s long watery wavey grass in these planters.

ESTIMATED BUDGET

Artist Fees: Project design, management, and completion

$3000.

Engineering & Consultant Fees: Structural, mechanical, electrical, etc. as needed to develop proposal.

Structural recommendation for repair of area $250, structural engineering consultation for poles $500, aesthetic pole design merging those req’s $250.

$1000.

Fabrication: Including all costs related to materials, fabricators, contractors and fabrication.

Pole fabrication ($1000 x 3), Bells ($250 x 3), Mariners Rope ($100), Paint, Gold pigment, Mortar, Hardware ($300), Placards ($1500) 3000+750+100+1800.

$5650

Labor: Cleaning and Repair of Area $1500 Application of gilded cracks & repairs $500.

$2000.

Transportation and Installation: Including all delivery, travel, contractor costs, site-related costs, etc.

Pole delivery $300. Installation $500.

$800.

Contingency: Sufficient to cover unexpected developments that are the artist’s responsibility (10% suggested).

10% OF 12,450.

$1245.

Total Budget: $13,695.

Lead Artists name: r salant robin@rsalant.com 1910 Madison Ave #33 Mem TN 38104 With

Lorenzo Scruggs lcs@lorenzoscruggs.com

Japanese Bowl: Reflections of A Poem by Peter Mayer

I’m like one of those Japanese bowls That were made long ago

I have some cracks in me They have been filled with gold

That’s what they used back then When they had a bowl to mend

It did not hide the cracks It made them shine instead

So now every old scar shows from every time I broke

And anyone’s eyes can see I’m not what I used to be

But in a collector’s mind All of these jagged lines

Make me more beautiful And worth a higher price

I’m like one of those Japanese bowls I was made long ago

I have some cracks you can see See how they shine of gold.