Bob Dylan, a Banjo, a Radio and Trout 2010

A simple life does not mean a trendy "return to basics" with shabby chic country deco, designer hemp rugs on the floor and rustic sourdough bread from your local equivalent of Balducci's... or even "cocooning" if you do it with a huge flat-screen not yet paid for. The average debt on a credit card is approaching $10,000, and even the average college student now carries a $2,000 balance on their card. (That coffee you "swipe your card" for is going to seem awful extravagant when you are still paying for a portion of it 10 years from now). I drive through middle class (umm...make that formerly middle-class) neighborhoods with so much junk in the garage neither of the cars will fit. In 1970, Bob Dylan stunned those who found some type of direction in his music by releasing "New Morning" containing the seemingly banal lyrics "Build me a cabin in Utah/Marry me a girl, catch rainbow trout/Have a bunch of kids who'll call me pa/That must be what its all about, That must be what its all about". Has he ever been wrong?

This tar paper looks nice and straight. The radio is free. Bring a banjo.

"Sister Mate" Real Photo Post Card Anonymous Itinerant c. 1915 Collection Jim Linderman

The Rice Church

Alabama, 1994

Original 35mm photograph 1994 Collection Jim Linderman

House of God Truth without Controversy

I am afraid my extensive notes do not indicate location of this church. I also do not remember if services were held in the house or the connected "single-wide". As you can see, it was a long stretch of road ahead and I had to be somewhere before dark.

Original 35mm photographs c. 1995 Collection Jim Linderman

Garage Hangover

Now THIS is a fun website and quite an accomplishment. Pick your state. If you are near my age, chances are you'll find the fellows who played at your prom (or tried to). For the record, mine was "The Uncalled Four" and we only played one gig, a battle of the bands. But we beat that greaser band from Muskegon who dared to play Beatles covers. Allow an hour or two, this site is more addictive than u tube.

http://www.garagehangover.com/

Robert Howell Virginia Environment

Robert Howell's rural Virginia environment circa 1992. I did not know his name at the time. A good friend of mine told me about it, but he didn't want to go. I knocked and yelled to see if anyone was home, the place certainly looked abandoned and the sculptures had a wonderful presence of abandon as well. As I was leaving, Mr. Howell appeared with with a double barrel shotgun aimed at my head. My first thought was what a scattering of buckshot would look like on a rental car. I do know it was the the first time, and hopefully the last time, I will say "put the gun down". Three times. My understanding is that since I visited, someone "bought" these sculptures, but this I am not sure of, and if they did, more power to them. If you would like to go visit and see if they are still available, be my guest. Four Kodak snapshots c. 1992 Collection Jim Linderman

Matching Tintype Photographs of a Young Girl The Painted Backdrop

Two remarkable matching tintype images of a little girl in an unusual profile pose. Circa 1865. The backdrop with tents and a flag was certainly used behind civil war soldiers off to war, many never returned. Perhaps this young girl accompanied her father to the studio the same day, and multiple copies were made so he could take one along on his journey. Tintype photos are unique images, but often copies were made at the same time through the use of a multiple image camera. For some sittings, the plate would be moved slightly and exposed again, creating a primitive version of a contact sheet. I believe these are identical...if not, our young poser moved not a muscle in between shots . Should a transparency be made, we might lay one atop the other to be sure, but my naked eye indicates duplication. The anonymous photographer not only skillfully posed her in the crux of the tree, the brim of her straw hat perfectly matches the angle of the longer limb. I like to think she was staring intently at her mother out of frame. She sits on a real log appearing positioned to mimic one which would have been sawn from the tree behind. She holds wilted flowers, perhaps a last gift from her father. This pair of photos is worth clicking to enlarge. My book The Painted Backdrop will be published in 2010.

Pair of matching tintypes c. 1865 Collection Jim Linderman

Holy Land USA in decay

High (REALLY high) above Waterbury, Connecticut one might still find the crumbling ruins of Holy Land created by the holy hand of curious visionary and lawyer John Baptist Greco. He commenced making the plaster and wire recreation of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in 1950, and like so many of those with unusual personal visions, he never finished. He willed the whole shebang to a reclusive order of nuns, the Religious Teachers Fillipini of Bristol. A mixed blessing for the nuns...over the years they have given up on tossing out rowdy teens and outsider art thrill seekers. After all, it is a MOUNTAIN and isn't fenced in. These pictures date to 1994. To find the ruins, drive to Waterbury and at every single opportunity, turn the wheel uphill and the road will lead you. Original 35mm photographs c 1994 collection Jim Linderman