TRUSTPASSING

 I write here frequently about my love of signs. These pictures were taken in Memphis and Knoxville over the course of a few years. I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting ones.

The old location of Jimbo's Flowers on North Central Street in Knoxville.

Painted on the side of a dance lounge on Elvis Presley Boulevard -- just a few doors down from Payne's Bar-B-Q.

Opposite "NO TRUSTPASSING" in the same parking lot. This is painted on the side of a tax building next door to a barber shop. They really discourage hanging out here.

On the side of a convenience store in Knoxville. I love the look of the graphic masking tape letters.

You can see my first iteration here of the masking tape "NO LOITERING" sign. I was so excited to try it out, that I picked up the first thing in my apartment to use as a background -- an Andy Warhol show card.

I have a growing collection of  NO LOITERING and NO TRESPASSING signs. I seem drawn toward handpainted signs telling me what (and what not) to do.

I found NO TRUSTPASSING this Christmas. I had gone to Graceland with some friends earlier in the week and returned to Bellevue and Elvis Presley Boulevard with my camera to capture some of the signs. (And also to hit up the huge AMVETS thrift store.)  I passed the sign once and was pretty sure it said "trustpassing" but couldn't believe it. I believed it enough to dive into the neighborhood and go around the block to have a second look. There it was, plain as day. It was strange, and it made a lot of sense. I googled the phrase. Not much comes up. I was beginning to think that it was a one-off until I was looking through a William Christenberry photography book. I admire his work -- he is another Southerner, chronicler, and lover of signs. (I've had the pleasure of meeting him, but that's a story for another time.) On the right-hand page was a picture of a rusty 5-bar farm gate in Alabama with hand painted signs of warnings and bible verses. NO TRUSTPASSING jumped out at me. Still not the explanation I was looking for, but it was out there another time.

 I spent this weekend working on some of my own signs using found paper and spray paint. I'll post them here soon.