For the past thirteen years, I’ve entered some of my photos and constructed artworks into Historic Albany Foundation’s BUILT charitable auction. The proceeds from the auction helps preserve and restore historic buildings and structures in Albany, many of whom are in dire need of repair and rescue. Too many of them have fallen to neglect and the cry of “We saw a building fall off the facade at 2pm, let’s get the wrecking balls over there by 3:30 pm.”
This year, one of my artworks is featured in the show, and you can bid on it if you wish.
And if you’ve followed my blog with any regularity this year, you have a good idea what I’ve entered.
It’s a restored and repainted drive-in speaker.
What you see here is a restored and repaired Simplex Jr. “Mabte” speaker, which I painted a dark green and added some gloss. The lower crossbar contains an advertisement for a fantasy Albany-based double feature, the Jack Nicholson / Meryl Streep film Ironweed, followed by the 1920’s drama The Cotton Club. Albany author William Kennedy wrote the original Ironweed book, and he also penned the screenplay for The Cotton Club.
Also, look at the top of the speaker. That’s the Turnpike Drive-In, which once operated on Western Avenue near Guilderland – the site is now an apartment complex. Because, yeah – if you’ve ever wondered how a Home Depot or a Kohl’s or an office complex just happened to find available acreage for their building’s construction – most likely that land once hosted a drive-in theater.
If you want to bid on this piece, the link is here. Or you could certainly check out many of the other artworks available at this link, with the understanding that all bidding ends at 9:00 p.m. this Saturday evening. Or you could visit the show this Friday and Saturday at the Washington Avenue Armory in downtown Albany and see everything in person.
Oh, and another note – Historic Albany Foundation is also offering a gift shop, where many of the artists are selling their wares. And yes, that includes a few of my 11×14 foam-boarded photos and artworks. Just in case you want something for your wall or for your office. 😀
So in the words of the great Albany mayor, Erastus Corning, “Vote early and vote often.” Or, in this case, bid early and bid often. There’s some fantastic one-of-a-kind pieces here. You don’t want to miss out.
Trust me on this.
Chuck The Writer 
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