Subversive Vernacular On View In September

 Danger!, Apalachicola, Florida 2015 © jwl

I am excited to shake off the cobwebs and get some art on the walls for this upcoming First Friday event in Knoxville, Tennessee. I will be showing new prints in 2 locations on the 4th of September.

Pulling from mostly new work, I am creating a body of images I call Subversive Vernacular. I feel these newer photographs speak to me in the way that short story fiction often does. As though the viewer can sense that something has gone down in the space or has shown up just after the action stopped and is wondering 'what happened?' or 'what's next...' I'd like to think that the photographs have a quality of mystery to them. The subject matter keeping true to my wanderlust of the American Vernacular Landscape, especially in the Southeastern States.

I am compiling images for a book later in the year and I am considering including some poems or stories to go along with the work. I believe it will enhance the work quite well.

Shed, Highway 25W, Tennessee 2015 ©jwl



For now, you can see some of these pieces on the evening of Sept 4th at

CBI

128 S. Gay St.

Knoxville TN

You can also stroll on up and see more work throughout September at

Hops & Hollers

937 N. Central St.

Knoxville TN

 I look forward to seeing you on First Friday or sometime soon!!

 Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Highway 11W, TN 2011 © jwl

Transmissions, Pittsburgh, PA 2008 © jwl

 Typewriter, North Carolina 2015 © jwl

Abandoned Storefront, Highway 74, NC 2015 © jwl

She's A Beauty

Mannequin, Memphis, TN 2015 © jwl

Bringing 'Em Back To Life

Abandoned Building, HWY 129, TN 2015 © jwl

The Kudzu House is not the only lonely structure I send my love to. I stop along the way and try and give a little to a great many Abandoned Buildings. I wish I could give them all some attention, but there are times when it is hard to stop, or the light isn't right, or there just isn't enough color (maybe that will change since I've been leaning into monochrome lately). There is something lovely and sad about the dead architecture on the side of the road.

Abandoned Building, HWY 411, TN 2015 © jwl

Much of the time, I see them as a symptom of my overarching theme of the Small Road being tossed aside by the Big Road. Other times they are simply a result of the changing times and how we build things differently these days. Whatever causes these structures to become my photographic fodder, I'd like to think that I am giving them a new life. Maybe somehow an eternal life in the eyes of a different audience. Audience, say 'hello' to American Vernacular's Past.

Short & Sweet

 Hand-Painted Car, HWY 62, TN 2015 © jwl

This week's Saturday Drive was literally driven by Eli Johnson. He had a photograph he wanted to make near Knoxville, so he wanted to take a short drive and see what he could do. I said, 'come pick me up' and I tagged along.

Riding shotgun is unfamiliar to me, yet the roads we chose were very familiar. I had taken this route a few times, so I was aware of what I was gonna see. Luckily, Eli's enthusiasm was with us or I wouldn't have made any stops to photograph.

Van, HWY 62, TN 2015 © jwl

Throughout the time I noticed that I was uninspired and in my own head, I tried to work these feelings out. I am noticing the tendency for me to go 'blind' when I get into familiar places. I just stop seeing the art I can make. I will work on this tendency and try to erase it. There is no reason I shouldn't be able to make photographs on my own turf.

These images were made while Eli was working on some other subjects. Lemonade, I'd say. I'm happey with what these images represent in my body of work and I'm happy to have had Eli's energy nearby. Thanks, Bud!

My Pile Of Sticks or How I Express Myself Using Your Front Yard

Memorial, HWY 25W, TN 2015 © jwl

As I have said before, I am a collector. Especially with Photography. I find subjects or themes and they tend to take over my visual mind. I generally have a few of them in my head, so I am not really going out and finding one thing at a time. I will, however find a great many of singular occurrences of a particular motif.

I've been looking at Roadside Memorials and other such Crosses for years. Lately, however, I have been honing in on them a little more keenly. I think it has a lot to do with living in the South again, they like their religious symbols around here. Dare I say, Iconography or borderline Idols. Such is the idea around my new subset of work, the Found Gods.

 Jesus Saves, HWY 88 NC 2011 © jwl

I am interested in looking at the place where Americans as social beings use Manmade objects to decorate their world and communicate to each other at the same time. All the while using religion and nature as a base for that communication. I'm trying to explore a visual Vernacular where the Found Gods & the Natural World coexist in a Manmade Landscape. I'll have a broader statement about all of this as time goes on, but for now enjoy watching the work unfold.

I know I'm repeating myself. I've briefly discussed some of these ideas before, but I use this blog as a bit of a journal at times. I'm letting an audience know a little more of my process. I encourage feedback. Feel free to comment here or on Facebook.

Self Expression & The Vernacular

Flower Bed, HWY 27, TN 2014 ©jwl

Sometimes, just by driving down the road, you can get a sense for some people. I've never met them, I probably never will, but I can tell that whoever made this little garden in front of their home has a cute sense of humor.

Even though I RARELY photograph a person, I believe that I am still making photographs of people. Nearly every image I make has a glimpse of the way people live in, decorate, disregard, and create landscapes within their spaces. These are the details that I am looking for when I create my work. I am looking for the sense of a space and that Space exists within a greater framework of a Region within a Whole of the American Vernacular Landscape.

Sadly, when asked what kind of photography I 'do', I can never truly say these words or convey these ideas in the moment. I'll work on expressing myself a little more directly the way the builder of this Flower Bed has.

Making Lemonade on a Rainy Day

Pow!, Harriman, TN 2015 © jwl

This sign sums up how you feel after long drive with my buddy Russell Garner. Your mind is blown and you don't know why, but it was worth the $2.

It was a rainy Saturday Drive (and the first with a passenger), but we made the best of it and we came home with some photographs as well. Thanks for the good day Russell.

 Marquee, Dayton, TN 2015 © jwl

Last Stop For....

 Blue Mountain View, McMinnville, TN 2015 © jwl

Serving as a destination spot & a hopeful coffee stop, Eli and I breezed through the birthplace of Dottie West last Saturday. McMinnville, Tennessee is where we stuck our pin in the map as we started driving and it was the last stop for photographs while we were in search of a cup of coffee for Mr. Johnson. I was looking for a cheeseburger, but we found neither.

Avon, McMinnville, TN 2015 © jwl

We did, however, find a few views of the small town American Vernacular that will suffice. I had a digital unit with me for the walk-around and I am glad I had it with me. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to share these photos until I got some film back.

There was a bit of fame charge in the air as I was making this image. The Mayor of McMinnville made his way ove to make sure we were enjoying the visual delights of his town. I was probably not as friendly as I could have been , but I was in a bit of a awe shock. He is the MAYOR after all.

No Place Like Home

 Burned Out Home, HWY 30, TN 2015 © jwl


This week I had a nice Saturday Drive. Once again Eli Johnson sat shotgun and we wandered South West. Not your typical photographer's SW, like O'Keefe and the majestic desert of Tuscon or what have you, no we just drove SW out of Knoxville.

I hit a couple of familiar roads and took notice of a few things, Eli was all charged up with that fresh look kinda face. One familiar road that I traveled, albeit very briefly, was the digital photography road. Even though I had given myself some 'film only' rules early in the year, I broke those rules simply because I could. Also, It's at times nice to see some fruit after a trip to the market. Everything doesn't have to be mail order!

The main reason I took out the D200 was because I have been analyzing my images a lot of late and the photos that my digital unit produces are very sharp. What I have to make a point to do while I am in the field is to NOT use the same viewpoint of a subject with multiple cameras. I have found that I have several versions of the same subjects and I am starting to get a little disorganized. But that is my problem, not yours, enjoy the show!!

Photo Collecting

Kudzu House 2, HWY 92, TN 2013 © jwl

I have a collector mind. When I am interested in something, I tend to gather as much of it as I can. Records, Books, Shot Glasses, Pocket 35mm Cameras, you get he picture. Lately I have been shedding some of my collections to make way for a more sustainable and, more importantly, useful collection of possessions. Leaving it to the things that I can use to make other things. Cameras, Tools, etc. That doesn't mean I have stopped collecting Things, I am just a little more reserved about what they are.

As a photographic artist who travels back roads, I have the opportunity to notice a lot of common things along the American roadside. Barns, Billboards, Crosses, Marquees, Chairs, Abandoned Everything...

Not that I am deciding to collect them in particular, but ever since I began visiting the Kudzu House, I have noticed more old homes covered in the parasitic vine of the South. This one made my attention a couple of Summers ago on a rainy Saturday Drive. I was compelled. Without any ideas as to what to call it, I guess Kudzu House 2 will work.

Pierce Lewis

Our human landscape is our unwitting autobiography, and all our cultural warts & blemishes, our day-to-day qualities, are there for anyone who know how to look for them.

from Axioms For Reading Landscape

Retracing My Steps

Building, HWY 129, TN 2009 © jwl

Yesterday's drive took  me down a road that I had been on before. That's not entirely uncommon, I've repeated a great deal of asphalt to make photographs. The road in question was a surprise, however. I had been there while my good friend Chad Pelton was at the wheel on a fishing trip. I found this colorful building on that trip back in 2009. The building is still there, but the spirit of this photograph has fallen away. I wonder what the significance of that is in general. Do you steal the spirit on the initial photo? I doubt that, otherwise I wouldn't love Wm. Christenberry as much as I do!!

Yesterday was a longer and more inentional journey around the South end of the Smoky Mtns. I am looking forward to getting the film back on this and the most several Saturday Drives...

We All Scream!!

 Hand Painted Sign, HWY 321, NC 2014 © jwl

Today the weather has put East Tennessee down in the Teen Temps. I know that a lot of the country gets colder than that for longer than a few days. Now that I have been reacclimated to the Southern Weather, I hate the cold even more than ever.

What better time to think of warmer times, ice cream & art made from art!

Cone, HWY 13, WI 2009 © jwl

What I mean is that I love Hand Painted Signs. When someone needs to advertise or convey a message to a lot of people in a very simple way, paint a picture. Painting & Drawing have been a part of human existence before we wrote words, why stop now? I feel an obligation to use my creative communication tool to document other attempts at communication, especially when they are on the edge of Simple & Beautiful.

WARNING!!!

Warning, Highway 25W, KY 2014 ©jwl

Here's the New News.... I have been back in Tennessee for almost 4 years now. I haven't been producing photographs, but I have been collecting them. As I try to get back into a consistent habit of making and processing images I am also starting to take notice of the patterns that emerge from this work. One such pattern is turning out to be a very strong attraction to roadside religion and all it's signage and statement. I thing I am giving this collection the title of Found Gods for now.

Since I feel that an entire collection of Jesus & Crosses and all that might get old as a body of work unto itself, I am probably gonna throw another couple of ideas into that mix like the idea of Hand Painted Signs and/or Manufactured Nature images mingling with God in this photographic party.

4 Deer, Highway 321, NC 2014 ©jwl

The idea of the hierarchy of hand me down creativity really excites me. Like God creates Man & Nature, Man creates Nature images & Icons and alters the natural landscape, then Man turns around and worships God and all the has created. Kinda, right?

However you see it,  I am gonna investigate these themes all at once and see where I end up photographically.

What Comes After A Long Wait

It has been over a year since I last posted. It's time to change that. Get back on the horse, as they say.

It's safe to say that I have been less than prolific for the last 3 years. Not that I haven't been taking photographs, I just haven't been processing or producing them. In fact, a couple of months ago I processed many rolls of film that had been patiently waiting their turn. The time has come! I have several new images to share and possibly some new ideas about them. I hope you enjoy what I have to offer.

Billboards & House, Near I-75, KY 2014 ©jwl

I have been taking drives every Saturday to look for images in the surrounding region. I am trying my best to get into a working habit of spending Saturdays working either on finding and collecting images or dealing with the fruit of that labor. I have learned that I am a Man Of Habit and so I need to schedule myself Work/Studio time or I just won't be very productive.

Playing with my old Billboard theme while also trying to expand my formal sense, this is a new photograph that I am proud of. I rather enjoy how it gives an idea of the Southeastern landscape as well as a glimpse into the ever evolving roadside environment. I guess that's what I am looking to accomplish. If you see something more, feel free to share. I look forward to some feedback and engagement with art again.

Window With A View

 Diner View, Hot Springs NC 2013 © jwl

After a great and relaxing visit to Hot Springs NC this past week, I found this view of the 'landscape' worth a second or third look. This image also gave me pause to look back through some past trips and images to find that I seem to love painted landscapes. I can think of some in Milwaukee, Lousiville, Memphis & Niagra Falls that are also noteworthy.

I have a great idea about a new show of my work. I have tentatively titled it 'GATHERING PLACES'... Stay tuned!

Mining The Past #6

Tire Repair, Four Mile KY 1999 © jwl

So this is a good one. During one of the first trips home to work on my Southeastern View photographs, I blew a tire in KY. Luckily the Brooks Brothers were open late on a Sunday. I think if I would have had this experience today, I would have been more adventurous and photographed the interior of this place. Alas, I only busted out the XA and played outside for a minute while the Brothers did their work getting me back on the road.

Mining The Past #4

Body Shop, Milwaukee WI 1999 © jwl

Heading way back, into the 90's, I found some really fun B/W images that I had buried deep in the archives. I used up the car/garage theme pretty heavy as a fetish art property back in those days. I personally enjoy seeing where my compositional habits lie in these early images as compared to the formal stance I began to take a few years later. Looking at newer work, I can see a mix of the two styles in the compositions I have been making.