Clean Sweep

While having a yard sale is a daunting task for many, others seem to enjoy the worst of it. I encountered this seller in front of her home early one Saturday before she had much time to put her stuff in order. But she was nonetheless having a good time and appeared glad to be getting rid of the clutter for an upcoming move. For the photo she held an antique broom she was selling and said she was making a clean sweep. The Grant Wood, American Gothic style pose used here appears in several other photos from the series.



This image offers more of an Edward Hopper approach to the scene.



The use of the word clutter carries a negative connotation for many but in my explorations I have attempted to show there can be beauty in the chaos and complexity of confused clutter. This pile of ties evokes an abstract beauty.

In other instances beauty can be more elusive.

Blue dress and tube top

This sale was in the front courtyard of an apartment building in Candler Park. Since this photo was taken I have run into one of the sellers at other yards sales she was holding as well as many other yard sales she shopped at. In many ways the yard sale community while ephemeral can also be a tightly knit community in Atlanta Neighborhoods.

Some strange candles, a collection of Kiss dolls and a pair of toy pistols were among some of the items found at a another sale hosted by one of the sellers. This sale was in front of a different apartment building in Candler Park.

Gumball Machine

This sale was in front of an older frame bungalow in Edgewood. The gumball machine was one of the larger items sprawled about the yard. While most of the stuff scattered across the lawn was not unusual or unique the placement of the items added charm to the scene.

Other things found in this yard included a smiling Buddha, green wigs and old electronics.

Barrel Lamp

Some household décor is feminine, some is masculine. Anything barrel shaped is overly, straight out manly. The man here seemed proud of the barrel shaped lamp that he is selling and getting out of his life. Perhaps a change in lifestyle or a new partner has affected his decorating habits.

A man in Inman Park with his own lamp creation. A light crafted from a Lite bottle.


The push pin lamp is very metrosexual.


This oversized owl lamp casts aside all notions of gender identification in lighting.


Here is a man's failed attempt to fashion a lamp from a tennis racket.


I found this bone yard of old lamps at a church rummage sale in Decatur. Most will never light another home.

Shirtless in Midtown

This sale in Midtown was on a hot day in early summer. The painting the seller is holding was given to him to hang in a bar he operated or worked in and was painted by a friend. Most of the other stuff in this sale was home and yard décor items. My wife bought two garden globes that now flank the entrance to our home. Hand made items given, as gifts are standard fodder at sales. Are these objects sold with the hope that the creator will not wander by and see their creations and gifts being resold? As an artist I wonder how much of my work will suffer the same fate. I look at this as a reality of the trade. Gifts of creativity can be a blessing and a curse.

Other stuff at this sale included large metal marching ants.

I found a painting similar in style at a garage sale in Decatur.


I've encountered this interesting piece several occasions. The horrid horned woman seems to be passing from house to house in Candler Park. Someday it may find its way back to the original owner.

Bike Rider

This is the most recent photo in the series and perhaps the final photo of the series. The seller had at one time operated an antique shop was selling off the rest of her inventory. I had had taken a photo of her a year prior to this but was unhappy with the composition. When I found her having a sale at the same location she had a little less of the clutter and a smaller crowd. She was wearing the witch hat when I arrived. She would be soon moving to California where she plans to open another store.

Earlier photo of seller. More stuff, more people and bad lighting.


This is a failed attempt of taking a humorous shot of a seller with a strange item. It just didn't work.

Boots

This is one of the earliest photographs from this series. This sale was in the yard of a small bungalow in Cabbagetown. I liked the thigh high boots because they appeared so different than the somewhat shabby casual apparel of the seller. At the sale were boxes of Manga books and magazines and a large selection of video games. Clothing as well as other objects can often reveal secrets of the lives sellers.

Another photo from this series shows a slightly different taste in clothing.

Straw Things

This sale in Lake Claire was held on a day that was far too cold for a yard sale. These objects may which serve as some sort of décor item seemed fitting to be sold by someone wearing gloves and a winter coat. The scene is reminiscent of a Christmas tree lot. But overall the objects are puzzling, are they miniature Xmas trees? Do they serve any functional purpose? Whatever their purpose they are no longer wanted or needed in the sellers home.


Some other inexplicable things I've encountered include a strange apelike statue, a huge control panel and a massive homemade Barbie ship.

Last Supper

The seller at this sale in the yard of an East Atlanta bungalow had a large collection of Leonardo’s Last Supper. He did not explain why he was getting rid of his collection. Personal collections and the divestment of them are in evidence at many yard sales. When encountering collection one can certain make judgments regarding what started the collecting and why is it ending. Did the owner tire of these things? Did the owner run out of space to store the items? Perhaps the collector moved into an obsessive phase followed by a cathartic moment that caused the owner to suddenly say “enough”. While one can see what is in the yard we cannot see how much might still be inside the home.



The sale included other religious imagery, sporting goods and used clothing gracefully draped across an old pickup truck.

A collection of vacuum cleaners

I encountered this sale at the end of a long driveway in Kirkwood. Most of the stuff here did not appear to have come out of the seller’s home but looked more like stuff he had accumulated, hoarded and stored over the years for one reason or another. There was no explanation as to why the seller had so many vacuum cleaners. Did he want to corner the used vacuum business? Was there good resale value in these machines or did he find them on the street and bring them back to life? Perhaps he just liked the look of these machines and enjoyed owning them. He appeared very proud of his collection. I have run into many situation like these where collections or one type or another seem not so much out of control but inexplicable. Most of these sales hosted by men more than women. How stuff like that gets here and where it comes from is one of the continuing mysteries of yard sale culture.


A large sign lead me to this collection.

A Spiderman lamp was one of the other teasures found here.



Other inexplicable collections I've encountered included a basement full of cat litter and a wall covered in scary clown heads.

Giant Pepto Bismal Bottle and Gun

This sale was in back of a large Greek revival mansion in East Atlanta that appeared to be in a semi-permanent state of renovation. It was a large sale with stuff spread out on tables covering much the back yard. The electric gun and the Pepto Bismal bottle were among thousands of items for sale here. One might presume that the man no longer wanted to play with the guns and the oversized bottle just took up too much space. They did place some very impressive signs around the neighborhood.


One of the many signs founds on the way to this sale.

In bed at the hoarders store

I was lead to this sale in the yard of a tiny house in Edgewood by signs saying ‘Hoarders Store” The contents of the yard indicated that the sellers had spent far too much time at thrift stores and yard sales. But she enjoyed her hoard and also appeared to enjoy getting rid of the clutter.


The large sign that led me to this yard of clutter.


I worked with the seller in other poses before choosing the image for the exhibition.