Endangered art in Huntsville, AL
(larry harris points this out from the blog of Deep Fried Kudzu)
Endangered Art
Wade Wharton lives in Huntsville. He has an amazing art environment. And the city wants to get rid of it.
He lives at 3100 Nassau Drive in Huntsville and is just tickled to give tours. He gets visitors all the time and is just really generous.
The Huntsville Community Development Department wants this art gone because it does not fit within their black-and-white Code of Ordinances. The H'ville Times writes that the city sent Mr. Wharton a notice because
"it is unlawful to keep or store any inoperable vehicle, auto parts, metals, tree limbs, litter, debris or similar items unless such items are stored in an approved, fully enclosed and covered structure."
That's a problem, because Mr. Wharton makes his art by recycling things that are cast-off. Whereas other Alabama artists like Charlie Lucas and Lonnie Holley and Joe Minter (and I could go on & on) who develop their art similarly are celebrated in museums, Mr. Wharton says that what the city is threatening "worries me to death".