Saturday May 12, 2007

Cindy is preparing for her exhibit at Callanwolde and has invited way too many people to come to the show as well as to our home. In preparation for this she’s attempting to make our 95 year old home not look it’s age and especially not look like we’ve been living in it for a decade and a half. With this in mind she puts a limit on my yard sale activities as she’s threatening to have a pressure washer ready for me to use when I return from the yards of clutter. I tell her I’ll try and be back by 11 AM.
I almost achieve that goal.



Lakeshore Dr. – Lake Claire "Yard Sale”

This event is in the driveways, back yards and garages of two large neighboring homes on one of the best streets (according to real estate agents) in my neighborhood. The stuff I find is not that interesting. But I am taken by the beauty of their extensive and lush back yard framed by the clutter they have put up for sale. As I wander about I encounter toys, sports equipment, plush animals, steam irons, old purses, glassware and a vase with a smiling face and feet on it. Other stuff there includes a telescopic sight for a rifle, a globe, several pairs of pliers, a foosball table, an air hockey table, a hammock and two butterfly nets. Among some books I encounter “Around the World with my Recorder”, “Buying Country Property”, Moscow- St. Petersburg Handbook”, a full set of a Groiler’s encyclopedia and a Russian Dictionary.
I buy nothing.


View of lush and extensive back yard on Lakeshore Dr.













Delano Dr. – Kirkwood “Yard Sale”

This is a medium size sale in the front yard of a frame bungalow. The sale is watched over by one woman. In her yard I find an empty guitar case, an industrial mop bucket, a box of mason jars, a music stand, some women’s clothing, a box of toys and a framed Keith Haring poster.
I buy nothing.

Marlbrook Ave. – Lake Claire “Yard Sale”

This was a meager and sad looking sale on what may be the worst block in my neighborhood. In front of a constantly drab looking brick home was a tables with a few thing upon it, an empty set of shelves and a sofa. On the curb was a large ragged shard of plywood advertising the sale. No one was in the yard but the door of the home was open. I contemplated going inside when the driver of an SUV pulled up next to me and asks if this was really a yard sale. I told him I’m was not sure and left.






Yard sale or illusion of yard sale?

Hillpine Dr. - Morningside “Neighborhood Sale”

I have a love/hate relationship with neighborhood sales. While they provide far more sales per acre, most of the individual sales seem to be causal events. At these sales it’s not that important that things are sold or gotten rid of. This one in Morningside was of that ilk but it did provide a look into this community. What I found is that there are a lot of kids here and the kids have a lot of toys, the residents wear uninteresting clothing and the interior décor items is not interesting unless the new stuff they bought is different. But everyone on this street was very nice from the woman who taught photography to middle school kids to the old woman who was especially proud of her 1968 Atlanta city directory (but not proud enough to keep from trying to sell it). The two most notable things I encountered on these streets were a pair of candles shaped like pinecones and a child’s gladiator costume.
I bought nothing.


Pile of clothes in Hillpine garage.













Child's gladiator costume.

King St. - Morningside “Estate & Garage Sale”

The sign said estate & garage sale but there was no garage and this was not an estate. In a way it was the most typical yard sale of the day. In front of this brick Tudor I found an old mattress leaning against a tree, a rack of brightly colored women’s clothing, tennis rackets, some camping gear, some books on bass fishing and a few items of home medical equipment. Laid out of a blanket were a number of old records, one of them entitled “Designed for Dancing” was next to a pair of sequined shoes.
I bought nothing.




Shoes and music for dancing.

Chalmette St. - Morningside “Yard Sale”

This sale looked like it had been lifted from some abandoned drive-in movie theatre flea market in south Georgia. Covering the entire yard of this brick home were makeshift tables constructed of warped plywood. Upon the raw lumber was a dirty and decrepit collection of old power tools, kitchen gadgets from the 1970’s, old cheap cameras and electronics and various filthy objects fabricated from plastic. The sellers looked like they may have been transported from the outskirts of Adel. I have no idea how they ended up on a street in fashionable Morningside.
I bought nothing.




Pile of old power tools.

Saturday 4/28/07

I am terribly behind in several projects I am working on and I had considered saying that it rained all day and that there were no yard sales. Instead I go out with camera and bring back far to many images to deal with. Cindy has a show at Callanwolde in a month and my show at Ruby Green in Nashville is the week following that. I have still not worked out what I want the last to images to be that will grace the walls of the gallery in Nashville. I have over 3000 pictures from this series and can’t make up my mind on the final two. I head out with the presumption that today I will get the perfect image of some broken ceiling fan or perhaps a candle shaped like a cinnamon bun. Three hours later I return with neither.

Hardendorf Ave. – Lake Claire “Yard Sale”

This sale was at the end of my block. All this sale contained was a few tables of children’s stuff. Which did not surprise me since my neighbor has three children. When he saw my camera he insisted I take pictures of the toilet bowl planters in his yard. Which I had to admit were more interesting than the assemblage of children’s stuff he had along the curb.



Page Ave. – Candler Park “Yard Sale”

This sale was in the front yard of a new massive infill house. Like most sales at newer homes this one did not offer up many decrepit delights. Here I found a pile of audio and video gear, a sofa covered in a loose blue cover, a camp stove, an electric putting practice device, an ugly metal owl, a humidifier shaped like an elephant, some lamps and some toys. In a box of books I discovered “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, “A Professional Guide to Effective Communication”, “Why Lenin? Why Stalin?” “Hey They Thought They Were Free” and “The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual”.
I bought nothing.

Oakdale Ave. – Druid Hills “Yard Sale”

I received an invite to this sale from a fellow member of an arts listserv that I subscribe to. I am always a little nervous when someone invites me to their sale. Not knowing that I may want to be critical of their belonging or perhaps wish to expose too much of their life. It’s like being at a party and getting caught snooping in the medicine cabinet. But perhaps the next direction my invasive art should take is photos of medicine cabinets, drawers and refrigerators in friends and associates homes.
When I arrived one of the sellers exclaimed loudly “Tom Zarrilli’s here!” I politely told the seller that her arrangement of ladies hats was quite charming and that the disassembled ceiling fan cast upon some shrubbery was very much the photographic opportunity I look for in a sale. Overall it was a good size sale with a large selection of higher quality clutter occupying most of the yard and driveway of a handsome brick bungalow with Tudor styling. There was an ample amount of signage about the event. Especially the sign still in front of the yard saying “Sorry it’s tomorrow”. All the signs were large and well printed including the one attached to a wooden canoe paddle saying “paddle” for those who might be conceptually challenged.
Among the stuff found on the premises included some candles, a small ceramic ghost, a blue glass lamp, some silver serving pieces, a framed photograph of Mykonos, two boxes of small maracas to be used as party favors and a hand painted backdrop of the moon seen from a space vehicle. Along the driveway I found luggage, some gardening stuff, the aforementioned paddle, one of those horribly uncomfortable ergonomic computer chairs from the late 1980’s (soon to be a rare collectible), an old electric fan, a few baskets and a print of a couple in love from the 1930’s. The hats I mentioned earlier were arranged neatly on the ends of long staffs implanted in the ground. Other clothing included a fringe leather jacket suspended from a tree.
There were several boxes of books here among them were “The Second Ring of Power”, “Lust for Life”, “Italian Regional Cooking”, “Creating the Peaceful Home”, “Dune”, “Magister Ludi”, “The End of Eternity”, “The Origins of Intellect”, “Oil Painting for the Beginner”, “Fresh Ways with Poultry”, “Life a User’s Manual’ and “Exotic Flower Arrangements”.
I bought nothing.

An image I never tire of - A fan resting upon upon the ground like some great injured bird.













Well labeled paddle.














Sign with incorrect information.












Well arrayed hats.

Challmette Dr. Morningside “Yard Sale”

When I arrived at this sale I was given a different welcome. As I began photo-documenting the clutter the seller quickly demanded why I was shooting pictures the junk in her front yard. Since I have moved up to a larger SLR camera I now seem to stand out. After explaining to her my quest and purpose she gave me carte blanche to document her stuff and even posed for me.
This sale was in the front yard and driveway of a simple brick ranch home. In the driveway was an older van with large framed photographs of Marilyn Monroe propped up against it. There was even more Marilyn stuff mixed with the clutter in the large, including a large framed jigsaw puzzle of Marilyn with James Dean, Elvis and Bogart in a coffee shop. It was not the more common Hopper “Nighthawks” knockoff but was set in some more upscale café. Perhaps the artist felt the Hopper estate might sue him or he might be sued by the original knockoff artist. Other stuff assembled in the yard included some board games, several lamps, a smiling ceramic chef figurine, some camping gear, a very large hunting knife, a small old TV, two bread makers, a tennis racket, several computer keyboards and a pile of tee shirts. There were some men’s shirts hanging from the side of the van.
I bought a shirt for one dollar but later found it was missing a button.

Marilyn in the driveway.














Seller poses with framed jigsaw puzzle of Marilyn.

Glenwood Ave – Grant Park “ Gallery Yard Sale”

This sale was in the side parking lot of the Youngblood gallery. Youngblood is one of the more interesting arts venues in Atlanta. The gallery tends to feature young pop artist and has a yearly skateboard art show. When I arrived late in the morning they told me that they had just gotten set-up, which is what I expected from younger artists. Among the stuff on tables and sitting around the parking lot were a pile of 90’s CDs, a Scobby Doo clipboard, a cheap blonde wig, an action figure of that bounty hunter guy in Star Wars, a photograph of Centennial park under construction, a semi melted candle, a game called Butthead and a pair of clip-on bunny ears. Some books found here included “Season in Hell”, “The Art of Loving”, “The History of the Blues”, “Cinema and Semiotics” and “Tales of Beatnik Glory”.
Leaning up against the gallery were some art works that I had photographed at a sale in Candler Park over a year ago. I told the sellers that my photos of the artwork were part of my exhibit at the Contemporary last year.
I bought nothing.
Artwork redux. Second appearance of this work in this website.













Glenwood Av. - Grant Park “Moving Sale”

There was some sort of moving sale going on in the house next to the gallery. There were a few things such as a giant Xmas nutcracker, a sofa and a pair of roller blades in the front yard of this small frame home. On the porch was a light up artificial tree festooned with autumn leaves. The house was open but it was difficult to tell if the anything was for sale inside. Mostly the inside was a mess with trash on the floor, partially disassembled aquariums, unmade beds and piles of debris. I even began to feel I was being a bit intrusive. But I did take some pictures.
I bought nothing.

Inside the home. Sale or confused housekeeping?