CONTEMPORARY EXPLORER

  "Life is full of different things that we are constantly trying to connect to make sense of it all...."  Arturo Herrera ART 21 Magazine

A small deserted building on Tryon doesn’t seem like much, until you stop for a moment. Tryon Street runs through the heart of Charlotte. Once known as the “Indian Trading Path” linking the Catawba Indian Nation to the Iroquois 800 miles to the north. Later it became a key artery of commerce known as the “Great Wagon Road.” It was named after Col. William Tryon, the Royal Governor of North Carolina in the 1700’s. Little has changed regarding the importance of the road to Charlotte, except how quickly you come upon the city core from the south. Giant buildings rapidly stepping ever south with legs of steel and glass, crushing the old along the way, or simply leaping over areas still fighting for their existence like the belt of low income housing. It is rare to find a building left behind in all this, but once in a while you come upon one such as 342 South Tryon. A small garage long closed. The owners name faded away. Still the building causes you to pause, it wears the beauty marks

  Not sure you would classify all the roadways of the South as “blue highways,” but so many meet the definition of less traveled. Roads made charming by forest and beautiful farms. All the time curving their way between. They branch out from the cities to small towns and an uncountable number of even smaller places, just names on a map. Names like Anvil Rock, Red Hill, Bethune, Buffalo Lick, White Buff, Liberty Hill, and Stoneboro. Most turn out to just be wide spots in the road, but they pull at your curiosity and imagination. You only find a paragraph or two about these places and images are even harder to understand. So you get in your car and go searching. The Bible even talks about “broad places” along a path where people stopped and sought refuge from straits of various kind. After you have driven the long miles it takes to get to these wide spots, you begin to understand.  Still you always find something of interest, a picturesque building or open field, the end of a rail line,

Among the row of small retail fronts, it only seemed to distinguish itself by being closest to a major store, but seemingly unnoticed. Shoppers passed by barely giving it a glance. The only activity was the wandering back and forth of the retail clerk. A tall dark haired woman who looked like she didn’t know how she got there. They say retail is plagued by the agony of monotony. Where one moment drags into another, the only excitement when the next week's schedule appeared. The job did not stretch the brain or offer any degree of decision making. The customer was always right. You were just filling a time slot. I gazed upon it all from a comfortable seat in the middle of the mall aisle. I liked the mall most for its seats. Perhaps I kept looking at the store mostly for the oddity of its name, FIELDS. , the period puzzled me. Its meaning and origin far more interesting than the bland stock the store seemed to carry. I googled the store name and got the idea. They hinged their hopes

  I always strived to approach painting with my camera. Capturing and making a scene as artistic as possible. Wander with my camera I did to this end. Recently I read “The History of Painting and Photography” by Kila Villena in the LOMOGRAPHY  Magazine. It’s an excellent article on how photography has danced between the issues of trying to be painting like vs realistic, to even the long debated question of is it art at all? The LOMOGRAPHY movement has stretched the discussion. You can use their lo-fi cameras and special film to produce very artful results right from the camera. You start to prize the seemingly out of focus shot and light leaks running every which way. Images it takes a page of words to explain or interpret. But overtime, you can get overwhelmed. The prints falling like heavy weights on you. Suddenly, your thoughts change about photography. You find yourself longing for the purity of a photo image. One that captures the image as it is, creating an emotion or message in

 

  “Your hands learn to do things it would take you a whole day to write about,” Jessica Stockholder - Play ART 21 Perhaps this is the draw to doing craft. You hands want to express themselves and lead the learning from the experience. I have never been very skilled in the craft area, but still enjoy doing it. It can be frustrating even when you create something of note. Where do you place it, how can you ever photograph it? There is a certain impermanence to it.  Still it’s worth the effort. Sometimes you find an object that urges you to bring forward the beauty. Your hands use tools to make marks. Your memory full of other things you have collected to tie it together. Other times, you might be in an art store and see thread or sticks crying out to be combined with the scraps and tears from other art work.  It all feeds the imagination of the mind. The hands though are what make it all happen. The hands you learn from.

  What possibly could you learn about life from an abstract painter? If the artists name is Amy Sillman, the answer is quite a bit. The very concept of abstract is confusing to many. Abstract art does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of visual reality. Some like the way it springs from nothing. Others dislike it for the same reasons.  Amy Sillman in her video “To Abstract” in Art 21 discusses the process of making abstract paintings. Along the way, she touches on techniques, philosophy, and ways to turn abstract into a successful work of art. Valuable pointers that can help in finding success beyond art in life and business. Stillman notes it’s the “not knowing” that draws one to abstract art. You are alone with the canvas. The skills and tools gained through time your only resources. It tests your very being. You have to trust yourself in this free space. There is no easy route from a to b, you have to discover it. You struggle to move ahead learning that the next step d

  There is certain drama about corners. You never know what’s around the next one. Perhaps this is what adds to their enigma. The word itself surrounded by different meanings ranging from the act of cornering someone to a remote part of the world.  It is our relationship to corners on the street that we encounter the most. Usually these are quick interludes, a fast rounding. Perhaps best when you don’t have all views of the situation. It is rare to see a person occupying a corner, leaning against it or even sitting in a chair. Their positioning key to avoid the constant knocks or interludes of another passerby.  There are rewards for these brave ones. Seeing three sides of the world gives you a feeling of control. It’s an uneasy one though. You still have to be on guard, wary of that the street might throw at you. Still the most successful of these corner sitters can wait for the city to decaffeinate before tackling the day or next corner.. 

We sometimes forget what art really is and what it can do for us.  Recently, much has been written about the photographer Vivian Maier, including a documentary. Still her legacy remain enigmatic. The meaning of her art a mystery. The unique story of her life often eclipsing her accomplishments.  Maier worked her entire life as a nanny in NYC and Chicago in the 1940’s and 50’s. She lived a very private life. Few knew she spent all her spare time wandering city streets with her Rolleiflex taking thousands of rolls of film. Lacking the funds and access to a darkroom, much of her work remained in a locker room only discovered after her death. Boxes of her work were purchased in a blind auction by John Maloof in 2007. Discovering the quality, he has made it a personal effort to exhibit and promote Maier. You can draw many thoughts about her work. Some think it best captures ordinary life, sometimes at the cost of the drama of the street. Others point to the richness of her composition a

  The rideshare industry can provide valuable gig income. Before you choose this path though, there are many things you should consider, not the least of which is insurance coverage. Often debated is whether rideshare gigs really make any bottom line income. The wear and tear on cars can eat profits. Less talked about is the quandary of protecting yourself with the right insurance. To the rideshare industry’s credit, protections for drivers via liability insurance coverage has made good strides. But there are pitfalls and risks that remain.  You will to be sued individually along with the rideshare company in an at fault accident. Especially ones that injure passengers or third parties. Since you are holding yourself out as a professional driver, you will be held to a higher standard than the average driver, increasing your financial risk. Your personal auto insurance does not cover you, it ends when you log into the rideshare company platform. The only protection you have is the rides

  You live your life in places. There is your home, your work and if your fortunate a third place where you can socialize, talk with friends and strangers. Examples of these include coffee shops, bars and libraries. But, as Devika Rao points out in her article “The Unfortunate, ongoing disappearance of third places” they are harder to find and fully enjoy as you did in the past. Blame it on the learned social distancing of the pandemic, the rise of social media, the doom loops of downtowns, and the suburb mentality along with a myriad of other reasons. Rao raises a valuable point, one that affects our well being, enjoyment of life, and peace of mind. Life though continues to spin at an ever increasing, confusing, and frustrating pace. So how do you fill the growing void of third places. Perhaps there is a fourth place that should be added to our life mix. One that is just ours to enjoy, one where we can pause, think, and grow our peace of mind. It could be as simple as a chair and a bo

  It's probably just a male thing, waiting for your wife at the mall. You've seen all the fancies and been to the Apple Store. Now you just sit and wait, first with anticipation, then concern and finally just growing old while you wait for her to emerge....

  THE ART OF FOUND ART - sometimes it just happens, hidden in a corner of an off beat bookstore, discarded torn pages and scraps, $5 for a bundle. You sense there is art buried there. You find old prints forgotten in the bundle. You add a few brush strokes learned from art wandering, a touch of digital magic and imagination. Part from an ever lost book to the world, part from skills found, maybe a view you only see. Maybe art found.

The bare lot stood silent, not saying anything. As if waiting to be called into the wealth on the right side of the tracks. The train though seemed to block its way, lingering on the tracks, seemingly never moving. The traffic rerouted over bridges far from the lot. I wondered would anyone ever want the lot, would people come there. I walked across the street to a small place, The Common Market, ate a sandwich, mingled with people and had a cup of their coffee chip ice cream. All the time looking at the lot across the way, but not worrying anymore…

  Simple things sometimes reveal special beauty in their detail. Beauty often overlooked.

 The parking lot half empty, just like the strip mall still painted in dark red. The owner having done everything they could to attract new tenets. But as you turned and looked, a large freeway sign dominated the horizon, pulling your attention away. As if to speed the dying...

Loneliness is at an all time high. The APA (American Psychiatric Association) reported over 30% of adults feel lonely. Malls are one place people go to escape loneliness, but often don’t find it there. You can be with hundreds of others in a modern mall and still feel alone, they lack opportunity for social interaction. Even leaving with an arm full of new purchases can still leave your soul empty for the experience.  Diane Ionescu in her article “The Mall is Dead - Long Live the Mall” points out this is far from the original thinking of how malls should be when they first appeared in the 1950’s. The original designer of malls, Victor Gruen envisioned the mall as a recreation of a European village with a roof. A place to shop, find services and socialize. As malls prospered and grew, space became too valuable to allow room for socializing. When these over commercialized malls suffered big box store failures, they became dying or dead malls. There was noting left to draw people. Now the

  Sometimes the crush of the traffic and city challenge finding the peace you need to take a photo, make a drawing or even think. Still you continue to search for the hidden corners of the city, where things left behind inspire in small ways…

  Box trucks are as much a part of the city as any mode of transport. Ideally designed for congestion and narrow alley loading docks. Some of the most iconic are yellow colored trucks, often without a name or logo on the side. They conjure a certain mystery as to origin, intent and what they carry. There found parked most anywhere, adding to that mystique. Some of these trucks are 20 years old, usually linked by GMC or Ford chassis. They often play parts in movies such as The Pocket or crime sagas. The moving industry was the first to invent and use the box truck. It sprang from the habit of apartment dwellers stacking their belongings on top of each other before a move. The box truck configuration a perfect fit for such moves.  The yellow trucks you find about are often linked to the history of Yellow Trucking. Originally formed in 1929, by the owner of Yellow Cabs. It grew from one truck to become the largest trucking firm in the US with 22,000 trucks, 600 loading docks and 35,000 em