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.

INTERNET-LOVE (AND WILLIAM CHRISTENBERRY)

Yesterday, my former registrar wrote a kind post over at the Samek Art Gallery blog. It's my first blog endorsement. I was the graduate assistant at the Samek Art Gallery for two years after college. The experience was the perfect blend of learning and getting thrown into the pool and being expected to swim. I keep an eye on the Samek via ye internets, and it's been growing by exciting leaps and bounds. The gallery has opened a downtown satellite on Market Street in Lewisburg, and there are now two graduate assistantship positions. I wanted to comment on the post, but I can't because I can no longer log into the Bucknell systems. Thanks for the internet-love! Thanks for sending folks my way, thanks for giving that fresh college grad who rode 2 days on a greyhound bus to get to an interview in Pennsylvania a chance, and thanks for trusting me with all that expensive art and that very large truck. I wouldn't be where I am today without the Samek.

Me, teaching my class how to hang art.

p.s. If you click on the link to the Samek post, that's me there with William Christenberry. One of the perks of working in a gallery is occasionally getting to meet the person who makes the art. Mr. Christenberry is a pivotal figure for any southern artist or kudzu-lover. He is a wonderful storyteller and an all-around lovely person. He regaled us with a story about Alex Chilton, William Eggleston, a convertible, and a toilet. It was an art happening in Memphis (and also the first date he had with his wife.) I would eventually get to see this footage at his exhibition at the Brooks Museum. It's amazing how things come full circle sometimes.