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During my latest trip to Houston I made sure to visit a few folk art landmarks.
First, The Beer Can House
The marbles imbedded in the cement was a nice surprise, and the sound of all those beer cans was also delightful.
beer can house from ana on Vimeo.
Next, The Orange Show! a theme park, carnival, maze type thingy built by Jeff McKissack.
And Lastly, The Flower Man, who happened to be outside eating dinner. He invited us in and entertained us with his delightul stories.
Last Thursday I traveled back to Houston to be part of a panel discussion titled "Urban Perspectives on Salon of Beauty" organized by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research & Rice Gallery. The event gathered sociologists and community leaders to discuss how their own practice relates to my installation. One of the panel members was Sergio Chavez, he is an assistant professor of sociology at Rice University and is currently completing a book titled, "TIJUANA: Migrants and the Making of a Border Socitety." Salon of Beauty reminded him of the work he had done in Guanajuato, Mexico, where he provided kids with cameras to photograph their surroundings. Through these images, Chavez noticed that many homes were also used to run small businesses, selling tortillas, clothes, and even practicing medicine. While visitors can't enter any of the buildings in my installation, this is what Sergio imagines are behind those closed doors.
