Lawn museums fascinate me. A land owner/renter has a small chunk of land to use and is more or less free to do whatever s/he wants with that parcel of land. The conventional thing is a nice green lawn, some shrubs, a few flowers for color (and bees), maybe a stone rabbit, a chair to sit and watch cars drive by, and of course an American flag. We wouldn't want any aliens running around the area unaware of what country they are invading!
But some people don't want to fit into that cookie-cutter mold. Those are the people I want to find.
Overly zealous patriotism is always interesting, where just a flag isn't enough. Now that I think back, maybe I got this fascination by visiting cemeteries and observing the garish decorations I sometimes find. Missing someone who died is understandable, even to me, but obsessing is something I also understand!
I love a good obsession.
One statue caught my eye a few years ago in an old cemetery in Detroit. A woman's face and upper body was carved out of stone.
And what hard, erect nipples! I'm figuring the husband visits that grave and when nobody is around, copes a feel and gets a thrill, since it does look like the woman he loved.
Maybe he breaks in at night and does unimaginable things right there in the cemetery!
I have found a few brave souls who decide to do something a little out of the ordinary with their lawns, with what the world sees of their external lives.
My newly found friend, Stickman Wilson of Berkley, is really quite fascinating and friendly as hell, in a good way. I visit his grounds for pictures to post in my gallery and also have the treat of visiting him. We talk and he doesn't seem to mind me snapping away while we do so. I especially like that because I like to be in a loose "Zen" mind when I take pictures and talking/shooting seems to do that. Stickman gives new life to old discarded tree branches, giving them the opportunity for a while to live as humans, right on his front lawn. Life-size, too. He has them engaged in all sorts of activities and it's always a treat to see what's new. We see the world through similar sets of eyeballs, so it's great fun just talking to Larry as well. He has an amazing back yard, a double lot, that looks like a real piece of a forest, with many trees, wildflowers, a newly installed pond (equipped with a nice supply of mosquitoes), handmade birdhouses nailed to the larger trees, a few bird feeders, and even chandeliers hanging from a tree. Amazing. He lives over on Morgensen north of Catalpa, if you're ever over that way.
Stickman Wilson
Mr. M-80 of Madison Heights had an interesting exhibit of modern/found outsider art, much with discarded parts of dolls, on display in his backyard. I had a really excellent time viewing his gallery, and meeting with him, talking about his art, taking photos, which can be found in my set of lawn museums.
Lawn Museums.
Mr. M-80 has moved. Sigh.
There is another man who lives (or lived) in the Big Beaver and Ryan area of Sterling Heights who has/had a double lot with a great deal of grass area and cement statues everywhere, many Greek/Roman style statues. He had little scenes set up and it made for a most interesting photo shoot. I recall they had something to do with memories of his wife. He wasn't especially friendly with me, but did allow me to go back there and photograph. I've removed photos of his land from my gallery, for the most part, though this one, a wheel shed he decorated, still remains. It really isn't a good representation of what I saw there, but lack of interest in my photos of that topic earned them the right to be retired.
Statue Land.
There is a man in the northwest area of Detroit, the Brightmoor district, who has a bit of a lawn museum going on. I always check out his offerings when I'm over there. Nice man, too. I spoke with him and he was unaware of others in the area who decorate their grounds.
Right now I seem to be fascinated with Virgin Mary statues. I'm seeing these ladies in a William Eggleston "Democratic Forest" type way. We have a huge Christian Chaldean population and I've been meaning to explore their turf and see what kind of VM displays I can find. Culturally, they seem to like to display their fondness for the goddess.
