jen fogg makes pictures

The article

File Magazine

     I was walking Uncle Bob at The Bulb today and discovered a "new" place there.  I've been going there regularly for over a year and a half, and just about every time I go I find something new, which to me is extraordinary!  The Bulb, an old landfill turned dog park,art installation and home to some who for whatever reasons find themselves there, is a tangle of dusty paths.  Some well defined some only vaguely discernible.  It is nearly impossible to take the same route twice.  I realize The Bulb is not everyones idea of a place of beauty, so I feel compelled to describe just a little bit of what it is about the place that makes me love it so.  

     I wandered down one of the less clearly defined paths and stumbled onto The Library, an actual structure with books among other interesting things, and I was overwhelmed by how frickin' awesome it is that people who society has written off as degenerate, useless, a burden and disgrace are able with no means of support to create places that protect,nurture, and encourage growth, a sense of community, stewardship and generosity that is lacking in the "civilized" world.  Walking around there is always present an awareness that you are welcome to be there, encouraged to take junk and create something beautiful, to paint a message, to sit among the birds and wildflowers as long as you like, or on the beach and listen to the waves, but always with the knowledge that this is people's home, so there is an added feeling of gratitude and respect that comes from being there and enjoying it.  It is a place of cast offs and throw aways that has transformed itself into something of such profound beauty that no amount of money, urban planning, or well trained designers could ever hope to match it! I always leave the better for having been there... it is unique, real, and true.

* Keats - Ode on a Grecian Urn