Friday 7/27/07

Wiltshire Dr. - Avondale Estates “Estate Sale”

I had not been to a Friday estate sale this summer so I stopped in at this sale late in the morning after the professional resellers had pillaged what they needed. This was not a particularly interesting sale but it was refreshing to wander again in a stranger home examining the artifacts of their life. This smallish brick ranch home had the usual flotsam and jetsam of a long life from the old kitchen wares to the linens and blankets piled upon the beds. The most notable items were the extensive collection of hand painted plaster Xmas figurines. The overtly cute figures occupied three tables in one bedroom and nearly all had angel wings. Some clothing remained in the estate including a collection of women’s hats, a selection of ladies gloves and some garishly colored dresses.



This home held few books. Cookbooks dominated the collection of a shelf where I found these titles “Party Cookbook”, “Cookbook for Two”, “All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten”, “Getting the Most Out of Your Life”, “The New Testament” and “The Lucky Stiff”. In one of the bedrooms I found a small stack of old stickery magazines and some religious works. Some artifacts that stuck out among the mundane china and glassware presented in the main rooms were a life size ceramic replica of a magnolia bloom and a dried gourd. In one of the bedrooms I found a box of old faded silk roses and a watercolor portrait of a blond woman in profile.
The basement had more ambience that the upstairs with it’s dim light coming from bare bulbs and sunlight filtered by the dirty windows of the garage door. Here I found old paint cans, a catalog for Hummel collectors, a fishing net hanging from the ceiling, some old Halloween décor, a game called Take 12, a basket of faux apples and a shelf holding assorted containers of miscellaneous hardware that listed in a way that made it look as though it would topple at any moment.
I bought two old tourist brochures for Georgia that were die cut into the shape of the state.

Portrait found in Avondale.



















Cloth items piled upon bed as seen in mirror.


















Multiude of cute figurines.















Hummel catalog in dim basement.

Saturday 7/21/07

After returning from Nashville to take down my exhibition Cindy and I took a brief vacation in south Florida. While walking on the white sand beaches yard sales seemed miles removed from the cool turquoise water of the Atlantic. But by the weekend I was back on the streets of Atlanta seeing what was offered in my neighbor’s yards. I found that yard sales had for the most part taken a vacation as well.

Page Ave. – Candler Park “Bathroom remodeling Sale”

The signs directed me to the back yard of this brick Tudor home where I found two women hovering over a disassembled bathroom counter top and a big Jacuzzi tub. I didn’t even bother to wander over to get a good look at the hardware as I was in no mood to remodel my bathroom. As I was heading back to my car I noticed there were a few items gathered for sale on the front stoop. Setting there unattended were a toilet brush, some kitchen utensils, some plastic shelving and a pair of flip-flops.
I bought nothing.

Hooper Ave. – Candler Park “Yard Sales”

Hooper is a dead end street that is now filled with new infill housing. While there were five sales on this street none were remarkable in any way. I do have some bias against infill housing yard sales but these were even below my expectations. Everything was new and unmemorable from the prints of jungle animals to the women’s clothing and the microwave ovens. I could not even find a single noticeable item to photograph. Quantity trumped quality.
I bought nothing.


Oakdale Ave. Candler Park “Yard Sale!”

A single chair that held a few items of women’s clothing was next to a small table with a purse upon it. This was all there was to this sale. A sign placed the chair read “I’m moving so everything must go”. There was no one attending the goods but this sale was much more interesting to me than all the sales on Hooper Ave.
I took nothing but a photograph.






Dekalb Ave. Candler Park “Community Yard Sale”

I had a difficult time parking in the small lot of this relatively new development along Dekalb Ave. A few minutes after I squeezed in two women in a van arrived and made it impossible for me to make an exit. Blocked in I took my time examining the assembled goods laid out in the parking lot. Among the stuff I encountered were parts of a pirate costume, a nurses costume still in it’s original bag, several wigs, a plush rabbit, a Dali-esque looking clock, old ladies hats wrapped in clear plastic, the usual selection of small picture frames and a box of mostly rock and dance Cds. Among some books I found “The Dinosaur Club”, “Out of Eden”, “When Anger Hurts”, “Naked Pictures of Famous People”, “Marriage and Families”, “Feuds About Families”, “Many Lives, Many Masters” and “Sudden Fury”. Sitting on the pavement were about a half dozen canvases painted in simple shades of blue, white and red. The women finally moved their van and I left buying nothing.

A selection of pirate goods on Dekalb Ave.













Melting Clock














Minimalist artwork in Candler Park.














Sterling St. – Candler Park “Yard Sale Give Away”

I don’t know if this ever was a real yard sale but when I arrived at the pile of stuff on the grass in front of an apartment building two Hispanic men were rooting through the assembled clutter. One of them nervously asked me if it was really all for free and I told him that it was as indicated on the sign the said “take what you need”. Above the sign resting on a tree trunk as a strange looking doll with deep blue eyes. Next to the same sign on the ground was a strange painting showing two bonneted girls being attacked by an alligator. Other things offered at no cost included some giftwrap, plastic food containers, curtain rods and tennis rackets.
I took some off the giftwrap to use for decorating my school library.


Doll in tree at give away sale.














Alligator attack captured on canvas.
















McLendon Ave. Lake Claire “Yard Sale”

This was a larger sale held on the yard of a rented duplex bungalow next to the Yoga studio. Here two women looked over a collection of clothing, travel accessories, books and various small items spread out on the yard. Hanging on the porch wall was a poster of popular cocktails, a poster of James Dean and a fabric print with Shakespeare’s image. Among some books I found “Idiot’s Guide to Acupuncture and Acupressure”, “Get Lost, The Cool Guide to Amsterdam”, “Lonely Planet Cambodia”, “For The New Intellectual”, “Writing About Art” and “Memoirs of a Geisha”.
Among the clothing were shoes, tops and thongs. Other stuff included a pair of swim fins, a backstage pass to a Metallica concert, a button that said “I made it” and a boxed copy of Photoshop. While I was there a fluffy long haired cat wandered amid the clutter.
I bought nothing.


Images hung on a porch wall.















Feline wandering among the clutter.

Saturday 07-07-07

McLendon Ave. – Candler Park “Moving Sale”

There was nothing lucky about today’s date. The morning began with a trace of rain, but later cleared up. There were not many posters up so I did not expect much. The first sale was a major disappointment. All the goods gathered in front of this large Victorian home appeared to have been taken out of a booth at a flea market or antique store. They still bore price tags from the store on them. Since there was really nothing here that appeared to have been used by the sellers I promptly left in disgust.


Hardee Ave – Edgewood “Yard Sale”

This was a very meager sale with a few items piled up along the driveway of a small brick home. Here I found a clock made from a frying pan, a microwave, some African artwork, a bag labeled Crock Pot racing, women’s clothing and some kitchen items.
I bought nothing.







Chalmette Ave. Morningside “Estate Sale”

There were huge signs for this sale along Briarcliff road. When I arrived I found it was at the home of a sale I had attended a few months ago. In that past event stacks of decrepit goods were piled onto tables made of plywood in the front yard. Today the same decrepit goods were arrayed through the interior of the home. There appeared to be more stuff on display than the previous sale but it was just more of the same. This home appeared to be the sad repository for useless and unneeded items. I have seldom encountered so much stuff that had so little value. In rooms thought out the home were well arranged piles of old car radios, computers that used long forgotten operating systems, filthy stacks of toaster ovens, rows of nondescript glassware and boxes of 12 and 9 volt adapters that would never again be paired with the devices they once powered.
As I wondered through this home, the more I witnessed the less I understood. Why was this stuff here in Morningside? Who were these scraggly looking men who sought to sell these useless goods? Why would anyone think anybody wanted this stuff? Perhaps this sale was not a sale at all but a provocative display depicting the banal evil and waste of planned obsolescence?
I left feeling dirty and disturbed.

Twisted mass of DC adapters.













Useless electronics on display.














Stacks of filthy toaster ovens in basement.













View of extended cluterr in backyard.

Sunday 7-01-07

Clifton Rd.- Candler Park "Yard Sale"

On Sunday I found this sale around the corner from my home. When I arrived there was no one watching over the pile of goods in the front yard of this small brick bungalow. There was simply a sign that read “Clothes and Books 50 cents all other items $1.00 put money in mailbox”. As I began my inspection of the assembled clutter a van with a man and a woman pulled up and stopped. Upon reading the sign the sign the woman loudly announced, “This is the best type of yard sale I’ve ever been to”. She them began gathering a great amount of goods. When the man with her questioned what they would do with some of the stuff she just said that she could send it to Israel.
Among the stuff for sale on the honor system were women’s clothing, some books, glassware, some bicycle parts, shoes and candles.
I left with a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses and a tee-shirt. I did leave the appropriate cash in the mailbox.




Instructions for using self service yard sale.

Saturday 6/29/07

McClendon Ave. – Lake Claire “Yard Sale”

This was not much a day for sales, perhaps with the holiday on Wednesday people didn’t care put their stuff out in the yard. This sale was a small affair around the corner from my home. Here two women watched over a small selection of stuff gathered along the sidewalk. Among the stuff there was a copy of a book entitled “The stuff we hold secret”, the Top Ten Game, a foot massager, two highly decorated knives, a framed copy of a document entitled “The Prayer for a Married Couple”, an unopened package of paper wedding decor and an empty frame for a graduation picture. In addition to these sparse things they were selling some fresh baked goods.
I bought a very tasty coconut pumpkin muffin.


A prayer no longer needed.

















Boulevard Dr. – Reynoldstown “Moving Sale”

Later in the morning I needed to go to Lowe’s so I stopped at this sale in the yard of a bungalow a block from Moreland Ave. While I photographed and perused the clutter the sellers set on the front porch and discussed neighborhood crime. Taped to the front of a table were two large signs explaining the pricing policy. But nothing I saw seemed to have the stars of stickers indicating the prices. Among the stuff found in the yard was a Mac G3, a mug containing some cigars, some kitchen implements and four small paint cans with retro postcard images of Arizona on them. There was also a selection of men and women’s clothing and some books. Among the books were “Who’s Who in Rock and Roll”, “The Joy of Beading”, “Ethiopian Traditional Recipes”, “American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit for Life Kitchen” and “Aristotle’s Ethics”.
I bought a pair of pants.

Pricing information in Reynoldstown.

Friday 6/28/07

Fayetteville Rd. – Oakhurst “Moving Sale”

I went out with Cindy in mid morning to check out a Friday sale for the first time this summer. The sale was marked by a large sign made out of moving boxes as well as a crumpled sheet of cardboard that hung over the for sale sign of this frame cottage. The sale was in the back yard. Here we found a moderate amount of jumbled goods. Among them were some items that the seller had made herself. These included a series of mirrors with brightly painted frames and some notebooks with covers made from old Lp sleeves. Piled on tables and on the grass here were manikin parts, several old dial telephones, a ceramic ET figurine, a plaster skull face and several religious prints. On one table was a pair of praying hands next to a Slayer CD. In a cardboard box were about a dozen old thermos bottles. In a box of books I found “Black Coffee Blues”, “War and Peace”, “Start Your Own Business”, “Holy Bible”, “Master Photography”, ”A Feast of Snakes” and “Dr. Spock’s Baby and Childcare”.

I bought nothing but Cindy later went back and bought one of the mirrors and an old dress form. The dress form was still damp from last night’s rainstorm.

Creative sign design.














Selection of antiquated communication devices.













Praying hands and heavy metal.

Walking in Candler Park - 6/16/07

This morning I went out with Cindy on foot to see what we could encounter between our house and a sale in Little Five Points. Without the aid of a car we able to visit five sales in a little over two hours.

Page Ave. “Yard Sale”

A large impressive sign on a utility pole next to Fellini’s Pizza led us to the first sale of our walk. In the yard next to the sale was a large faded sign that announced cryptically “try health credits” anther sign next to it had most of it’s message washed out except for the words ‘watch for sharks”. The neighboring sale was not as mysterious as the nearby signs. Here we found some framed vintage Coke ads and some antique map replicas leaning against a storage POD. In the front lawn were several boxes of toys and xmas decorations, a tire for a small car, several relief maps and a few tote bags. On a table were a catcher’s mitt, more old Coke memorabilia and two pocket calculators.
We bought nothing.

Box of Xmas Decor.













Tire found in front yard.














Oakdale Ave. Candler Park “Sale Yard”

As we proceeded towards Little 5 Points we came upon a simple but wonderful sign at the corner of Oakdale and North the said “Sale Yard”. As we headed to the sale I was disappointed to find that this error was limited to that one sign and that all the others used proper syntax. The sale was a small affair in front of a frame craftsman bungalow. Dominating the few items for were two oversized control panels. The seller told me he purchased these at a local antique shop and was told they controlled the HVAC at some now demolished civic arena. He did not state what he had used the panels for or what anyone could use them for. In addition to the oversized control boards he was selling a few items of retro furniture, some vases and a push lawn mower. Among a small selection of books for sale were “What Your 5th Grader Needs to Know”, “Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child” and “When Heaven and Earth Changed Places”.
We bought nothing.



One of two massive control panels sitting upon the grass.














Candler St. – Candler Park “Yard Sale”

A very colorful sign on McLendon led us to this sale. Here we found a delightful selection of disorganized goods scattered on front porch of an old frame bungalow with a wild and busy front garden. Among the random arrangement was a pair of rollerblades, a bread maker, packages of stick-on letters, a George Foreman grill, a pressure cooker, a tackle box filled with colorful lures, some women’s clothing and old darkroom equipment.
We bought nothing.




Porch crowded with clutter.














Assorted angling equipment on display.

Elmira St. - Candler Park “Yard Sale”

This was the largest sale of the day. In another bungalow owned by the manager of a local tavern was an extravaganza of all thing brew oriented and lots of other wild and confusing items. This was one of those sales where the seller had finally given in and decided she had had enough of all this clutter. The collection spoke of a lifetime spent with potent potables, signs, bar- wares, and endless promotional items passed onto her by beer companies over the years. In addition there was a large assortment of western style objects from a child’s backpack in the shape of a cowboy boot to naïve western artwork. Her books indicated a wide range of interest and lifestyle changes among them were “Roughing it Easy”, “One Pan Gourmet”, “Undaunted Courage”, “The South Beach Diet”, “Utah Handbook”, “Love and Desire”, “Rescue Dog of the High Pass”,” Stranger in a Strange Land”, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. “The Devil’s Flu”, “Cowboys are My Weakness”, “You Can’t Win” and “A Cure for Dreams”.
Some larger things included two plywood cutouts of Xmas trees, a brass bed and some retro kitchen furniture. Other assorted objects included a boxed set with the label ‘Candlelight and Music’. It included a candle and a CD of romantic songs. Also found there was a large wooden figurine of a frog in a nurses outfit, three boomerangs, a candle shaped like an iguana and at least thirty other candles or candle holders. She was also divesting her self of a large novelty button collection. Among her collection were ones that read, “Why think when I can watch TV”, “Are we over the rainbow yet” and “It’s the little things that mean so little”.
We bought nothing.


Multitude of beer signs on porch.














Reptillian candle.













Western artwork found on Elmira.
















Moreland Ave. – Little 5 Points “Yard Sale”

This was the sale that prompted our walk but when we arrived we were disappointed at the meagerness of the event. Here in on the front porch of another bungalow we found some women’s clothing, a box of shoes with massive heels, some plush toys, a microwave oven, a sad looking small Xmas tree and an oversized faux antique clock. Among some books were “In Cold Blood”, “Girl Interrupted”, “Zen Tarot”, “the Way of the Wizard”, “A Year of Living Consciously”, “the Passion”, and “Discover Your Psychic Powers”.
We bough nothing but in our disappointment realized that our walk was more important than getting to our destination.

Some well heeled footware found at our final destination.

Visions Fron A Yard Sale Addict - Nashville 6/9/07

The opening of the exhibition of photography from this site finally took place at Ruby Green in Nashville last weekend. I packed the Camry with 20 works and drove north arriving at the gallery on Friday afternoon where Cindy and I worked with the staff on the install. The day before the show received a large write-up on the cover of the living section in the Tennessean in Ms Cheap’s (Mary Hance) column.
The opening the next day went well with a larger than expected crowd, especially considering that the CMA Fan Fest show was happening that same weekend in downtown Nashville.




Photographs ready to be viewed.













Art patrons viewing images of clutter.















Due to the crowds in town for fanfest we had to stay in a hotel nearby Brentwood. With the artwork in place I had some time to visit a few sales in Brentwood and visit some Music City attractions.

Brentwood – "Yard Sales”

Being out of town I was not up to my normal standards of yard sale documentation. I was also a little off since the neighborhoods here were far more upscale and suburban to the typical Candler Park sales I visit every week.

The first sale was in the driveway of a large home in a new development. Most of the stuff here was new as well. Among the clutter I found a jigsaw puzzles of the United States, a ba-relief of two angels, a wine connoisseur’s gift set that appeared unused and a sealed roll of shelf paper. A few books included a cloth Busy Bible, “Mom’s Book of Answers” and “3299 Mantras, Tips, Quotes and Koans for peace and Serenity”.
I bought nothing.



The second sale was a little larger and held on the rear driveway and in the garage of a slightly older suburban home. Here I found a large assortment of Xmas stuff including some large homemade Xmas animals. But the seller told me to stop taking photographs after she may have seen me capturing an image of a dirty soup maker or the old Coke machine in the garage. She did not seem impressed when I told her I had a show opening tonight.
I did buy a laptop case from her for a dollar.





The next sale was more laid back. Here I found a large amount of wreaths made from dried tree limbs and twigs and a lot of rabbit figurines. Among some toys was a kit that allowed children to do a dissection of an artificial frog. I recall as a child I received an Easter gift many years back of a science kit that contained a real frog.
I bought nothing.







The final sale was in a little bit more urban neighborhood where among some toys, and kitchenware a large console organ was in the driveway. Cindy attempted to play, but. It was not plugged in.
I bought nothing.














Nashville Sights

That afternoon we checked out some other galleries in town and visited the Parthenon. Nashville has a concrete full size replica of the Greek structure that dates back to some turn of the century exposition when people had a better appreciation of faux classical monuments. The Inside of the edifice is dominated a massive statue of Athena done in the style of late 19th century carnival statuary. I am surprised that over the years Christian fundamentalist did not destroy the pagan goddess like the Taliban did with the giant standing Buddhas. Perhaps Tennessee is more progressive than Afghanistan.
Gargantuan statue in faux Parthenon.













A brief sojourn in Appalachia

The morning after my show opened we headed east and north towards the hills of Kentucky. Just over the Tennessee border we visited Cumberland Falls. Hailed as the Niagara of the south the falls is one of two in the world where visitors can see a moon bow. Unfortunately there was not a full moon the evening of our visit so all we saw was a lot of falling water in pale light. From There we went on the Corbin to see the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Here one can dine on KFC at the site of the original Sanders motel and restaurant. A museum is set up where one can see large tubs that once held the secret recipe, early menus, and various kitchen items used by Col. Sanders. Scattered about the museum are countless full sized replicas of Sanders that one may pose with or make offerings to. There is even a likeness of the Colonel made of eggs and copies of his Christmas albums. The food served there is no different than any other corporate KFC outlet.
I ordered the original recipe.

Replica of the Colonel in his office. Note hamster cage on his desk.














Elvis seen in downtown Knoxville. All travel reports of Tennessee are required to contain at least one image of an Elvis impersonator.