Shannon Duncans black binder holds a rather hefty list of houses inside the 610 Loop that were demolished from January 1 to June 30. Duncan traveled to most of these houses for her installation (Re)Vision: A Preservation of Houstons Inner Loop. The show features a walls worth of Polaroids Duncan took of houses before and after demolition with some of the sites already in the process of being rebuilt.
On another wall is a display of books, photographs, postcards, letters, medicine bottles, mailboxes, toys and other objects she found at the homes. These are the items that really interest Duncan: saved treasures that escaped trashing for years until now. It was really important to someone at some point, and then you just find it, she says.
The houses are no different. At one point, the soon-to-be-destroyed buildings were home to a person or a family, important to someone. Duncan says that during a demolition on West Gray, a neighbor walked up to her with tears in her eyes. She said, My friend lived there for 25 years.
Duncans binder, along with a laptop linked up to the exhibits accompanying Web site (www.communitywalk.com/revisionhouston), explores the process behind chronicling a series of inevitable events. I guess I was more interested in the thing
you couldnt stop from happening, she says. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Through September 27. Lawndale Art Center, 4912 Main. For information, call 713-528-5858 or visit www.lawndaleartcenter.org. Free.
Mondays-Saturdays. Starts: Aug. 22. Continues through Sept. 27, 2008
This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2008.