One Man's Junk

Ever since I purchased Marie Antoinette at the Saw Dust Festival in Laguna Beach (yes, the Laguna Beach of MTV fame), I've been fascinated with junk. Marie Antoinette consists of a slab of slate resting in a rusted piece of metal. a mini-guillotine of sorts -- that artist had a sense of humor. I am never really sure whether the junk I like is "found" or "outsider" art or just plain junk. All I know is that I like the idea of creating something beautiful from someone else's leftovers.

Take this picture -- it is from a farm junkyard of sorts that exists in the middle of a Kangaroo Preserve on Kangaroo Island. It's a little bit of nothing that makes me smile. Isn't that one of the main things art should do?

As for Kangaroo Island -- it's one of those very cool places where nature and man seem to have reached a reasonable agreement around cohabitating together. We (my niece Julia, nephew Andrew and I) were there as 2008 faded into 2009 and thoroughly enjoyed all the island has to offer. We stayed at the Look Out (http://www.thelookout.com.au/property.php) which, at this writing, looks to still be run by Peter and Malcolm. I can taste the homemade bread and preserves and this is where I learned to make coffee with a french press. far better than any cup I've made with a drip coffee maker. If you want to see a Koala in the wild, this is the place to go. It's also quite easy to get your fill of kangaroos, sea lions, and seals. And then there is the junk. the oh so glorious junk.