The season in decline….

As the leaves have fallen so have any semblance of quality and entertaining yard sales. Today there was next to nothing in my neighborhoods so I had to drive further to get to these few meager offerings.

Virginia Cir. – Virginia Highlands “Yard Sale”

This was the largest yard sale I could find today. It was put on by the residents of two adjoining homes and featured a decent collection of clutter. On one side was a large collection of collectable dolls and toys. A table was stocked with small Madame Alexander figures and some hideous plush toys with horrifying hand painted faces. I will not mention the creators name for fear of bringing on a lawsuit. Other stuff here included a pair of pink glitter children’s disco boots; a Santa figured that played an annoying saxophone, a pillow in the shape of a bunch of asparagus, a VHS tape “The Vita Mix Cookbook” a copy of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and a Ben Hogan biography.
On the other side I found an American flag woven from wicker (these colors don’t run, they splinter) a scuba tank, children’s furniture, several framed prints of grizzly bears, a famed print of some kind of aquatic dinosaur and a boxed set of Inner Child cards.
I bought nothing.

Framed print of aquatic dinosaur.























Horrible plush creatures.


















Highland Ave. – Virginia Highlands “Yard Sale”

The Craigslist ad said a couple was combining their households and getting rid of stuff. Among the stuff they were getting rid of was a vacuum cleaner, a pair of plastic machine guns, a boxed set of wild drinking games, some wine glasses and women’s clothing.
I bought nothing.










Two non-events

I did later visit an estate sale in Virginia Highlands that was disappointing beyond my standards. I might have been wandering thought a realtors showroom house. I'm starting to think I should not go to any estate sales unless obsessive compulsive octogenarians lived and died in the household.

Dreadful estate sale.






















Earlier in the week I relieved the following email message:

“The Yard Sale, examines the adventures of making and viewing art in alternative spaces and for unconventional audiences. As the name suggests, this is a residential address where the performative‘sale/show’ will take place.

Part One is aimed at bringing art to the average shopper. It will invite the viewer to a Saturday morning yard sale, placing the works in an environment different from their typical context, in order to invoke the eye of the ordinary, unbiased consumer. The goal of the show will be to create the illusion of an actual yard sale, complete with random objects typically found at such occasions. The artists will not be in their expected roles, acting instead as observers in order to document the reaction of the unassuming public.

This setting aims to create a dialogue that contains a new set of thoughts and ideas by taking art out of its assumed context and placing it into an environment that is unfamiliar.
Part Two includes a literal and conceptual documentation of the show, that combines the remaining chatchkees from the yard sale with the artworks in order to initiate an engaged dialogue between curator and viewer. The artists will be sharing their observations of the above experience, including consumer reactions to the work and concepts that were presented.”

Sadly I drove by the address for this event three times this morning and it appeared that nothing was happening. I am a major advocate of conceptual art and an even bigger supporter of any project that demonstrates that I am the founder of an entire sub-genre of art. But the only thing that really occurred were few wet signs placed around midtown and this written documentation of the non-event. Which is in it’s self a conceptual work of art.

Sign for conceptual yard sale non-event in Midtown.

More Yard Sale Addict stuff on Facebook

I think I'm spending too much time on social networking. I have established a presence for myself and Yard Sale Addict on Facebook and have been getting good response. This week I created a Facebook gift app "Yard Sale Junk" where users can send each other some of the mindless goods seen on this site. All the images are taken for the vast horde of photographs I have taken at yard sales over the past four years. So if you would like to send a Facebook friend a dirty mattress, ugly furniture, bad paintings or boxes of empty jars search "Yard Sale Junk" in Facebook and load the app. Over 1500 items were sent be users in the first week it was online. Become a user now.

Saturday 11/8/08

Howard Ave. – Lake Claire – “Yard Sale”

This was not a good morning. There was not much happening, it was cold and the glaring sunlight made for lousy photography. Plus I could not find anything really interesting at the sales I visited. This sale was located on the driveway of a modern home built in the past year of so. In fill homes seldom have great sales and this was no exception. Here I found exercise equipment, baskets, luggage, a bike, some audio components, a big framed poster for a popular brand of wine, kitchen stuff and a few boxes of books. Among the books were “Healing Though the Dark Emotions”, “Flawless”, “Journey Through Heartsongs”, “The Way the Crow Flies” and “How to Behave So Your Children Will Too”.
I bought nothing.










Lakeshore Ave. Lake Claire “Yard Sale”

This sale was down a steep driveway on the back deck of a large home overlooking a park. The view was wonderful but the contents were boring. It was almost entirely made up of children’s apparel. I did appreciate the placement of a guitar in a basinet.
I bought nothing.













Oakdale Ave. – Candler Park “Yard Sale”

The harsh sunlight was really bad here. Plus what they were selling was not that good either. I couldn’t fully understand this sale some of the stuff appeared to belong to an older woman but two younger guys who did not appear to be her sons operated the sale. Among the stuff piled on tarps and tables in the front yard were jigsaw puzzles, old computer parts, old screens and windows, disassembled light fixtures, a box of 70’s rock LPs, an old framed Sunbeam bread ad and dressmaking patterns. On the porch was a huge selection of tedious Hollywood movies on VHS tape.
I bought nothing.











McLendon Ave. – Candler Park “Yard Sale”
I had been to several yard sales at this address in the past few years and some of the stuff here was seen and documented previously. There was some new stuff such as the propane gas cylinders, rat traps (the sticky kind) and bingo markers. Among some books I found th two copies each of “Who Moved My Cheese” and “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” The seller told me he got one pair from a former employer and the second from a new employer. Perhaps the distribution of such books is the reason that this country is in its current economic malaise. I found a weed whacker here something I actually needed since my old one burned out. When the seller demonstrated it for me he almost cut off his toes. With this demonstration of power I purchased the weed wacker for five dollars along with a pair of shorts.




Redundant business books .

Some belated Halloween images and more...

I have to admit with the change in weather, going out of town, Halloween and the election I’ve somehow avoided yard sales for a while. So I’ve posted some images from the Little Five Points Halloween parade and some local yard décor. No sales just yards.












Mexican wrestling masks were a big thing this year.
















Someone told me this fellow looks this way most of the time.




















They held workshops in the neighborhood on creating these massive skeleton puppets, there seemed to be dozens of them.


















Sometimes a costume doesn't have to make sense.














One of the best yard displays was on a nearby street in Decatur. Here a horde of dead pirates ruled the landscape. Some finer details included fake crows in a tree, a bar room of the dead and a smoking cannon.















Two ghost pirates in a sinking rowboat.














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Political displays were mixed with the holiday theme in my neighborhood. Here's an Obama symbol carved into a pumpkin. It looked better lit up at night.
















A Massive Obama sign erected on McLendon Ave. Halloween decor can be seen in the background.