Thursday, January 5, 2017

El Paso: Segundo Barrio: A Sensory Art Garden



Art garden, Segundo Barrio, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.


October 2016

I did a self-guided walking tour of murals in Segundo Barrio one Sunday. I came upon an older man taking in the sun, sitting in a plastic molded chair in his yard. Right next to him was this art garden. I asked him if I could photograph it and he said yes.



Art garden, Segundo Barrio, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

October 2016


I love outsider art, especially outside outsider art. There's a line where, on one side, such a garden is just right, and on the other, it explodes into a cacophony of visual noise. The artist of this garden is getting it so right. There are the Christian references, the Native references, utilitarian inspirations by way of pulleys and chains, for example, and a paeon or two to beer. There is movement and there is natural sound. Some colors pop like blooms from statuettes, a set of chimes, a colorful plastic bird.


Art garden, Segundo Barrio, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.


The garden reminded me of one of my favorite outside outsider art spaces, the old Holy Trinity Park in Taos, which housed (and maybe still does) this poignant sign:

Holy Trinity Park, Taos, New Mexico.


It reminds me of the art space by the Mayor of Golden, New Mexico.


Art garden, Segundo Barrio, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.


The shade is blessed in such a hot, sere place such as El Paso. The color, the breeze, the multiple layers of sound call you to pause, look. Consider the arrangement of the pieces. Imagine sitting in one of the chairs in an evening or an early morning.


Art garden, Segundo Barrio, El Paso, Texas. October 2016.

I like the sounds of the video of this garden - the breeze, the traffic, the wind chimes, the birds.




The pulleys and leaves sway, and with them, the shadows.




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