Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, January 12, 2022 — Page 5
Michael N. Searles
PAPER AND GLUE
JR, an amazing cinema
tographer and visionary, has
created a documentary entitled
Paper and Glue that recently
was shown on MSNBC. The
documentary ran for two hours
without commercial interrup
tions followed by an interview
of JR.
The technique used by the
filmmaker combines commu
nity building and monumental
photography to unveil the hid
den parts of society that many
people choose to avoid. JR’s
twenty-year adventure took
him to the US-Mexico border
where he constructed an instal
lation that spanned both the
Mexican and American sides.
The mention of the border
conjures up drug traffickers,
narco gangs, and poverty. Yet,
interviews with those who live
on the other side of the border
wall reveal people living or
dinary lives much like their
American counterparts. A giant
image of a boy named Kikito
peers over the border fence
as a table is set on the ground
connecting the United States
with Tecate, Mexico.
The foreboding wall was
transformed into a social
gathering place where people
on both sides could enjoy
delicious foods prepared by
the people of Tecate. Folks
came to the site to take photos
and share pleasantries as they
gained a deeper appreciation of
their neighbors. Even the bor
der patrol was invited to share
food and the good feelings gen
erated by the art installation.
None of JR’s artwork is built
to last since it is constructed of
paper and glue. Yet the memo
ry and the filming of the events
create lasting impressions for
those who observe, participate,
and socially connect. Years
after the installations are gone,
those interviewed shared what
the experience was like and its
impact on their lives.
In a maximum security pris
on in Tehachapi, California, JR
entered a place where violence
and death were common. He
introduced a group of inmates
to his plan to tell their stories
in enlarged photographs that
would cover a blood stained
prison yard where a stabbing
occurred a few days earlier.
In prisons, divided by race and
gang affiliation, an inmate puts
his life in danger just to talk to
someone on the other side.
The project engaged the
inmates to cross these impen
etrable barriers
and create art.
The experience SEARLES,
had a profound 14
Ronda Rich
SILAS HARRIS
It’s been 25 years or so since
I first stayed at the Peabody
Hotel in Memphis. Proclaimed
as the South’s Grand Hotel, I
have since stayed a couple of
dozen times, at least.
It was there in an enormous
room, almost a suite, that I
watched a pre-taped show I
had recorded in New York a
few days earlier which, at the
time, featured renowned jour
nalist Barbara Walters. For my
part, I was a wide-eyed, naive
country girl who took a couple
of floggings from Walters but
managed, somehow, to hold
my own.
Moments after the inter
view ended, my distinguished,
courtly New York agent called
and said, “On behalf of New
Englanders, I apologize for
how you were treated.” His
dander was up.
Mama called a bit later and,
as usual, pulled no punches.
“I’m so mad that I’m spiffin’
nails. How dare someone treat
my little girl like that!” After
a tirade, she paused and said,
“But you looked real pretty and
I was proud of how good you
did. If I ever see her, though,
I’m liable to pinch her head
off.”
I remember my first stay at
the Peabody a couple of years
before that. The lobby was
grand and the building itself,
like much of downtown Mem
phis, is beautiful and stately.
Old Memphis has good bones.
All of its older buildings are
strong, tasteful and artfully
designed.
The room, during my first
stay, was a disappointment
with old bedspreads and carpet.
It reminded me of the depress
ing rooms we often had in the
woods of Pocono, Pennsylva
nia, when I was on the stock car
circuit. The track owners and
people were cordial and eager
to have us visit twice a year
but there were few restaurants
and no nice hotels... or heart-
shaped bathtubs.
Pocono was so rural that,
once, Neil Bonnett was quali
fying his race car when he
throttled the gas to around 175
mph. Just as he hit top speed,
an unsuspecting deer leapt
over the wall and
into the path of the
Budweiser Number RICH,
12. It is a wonder 6
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