Living up to what you replace: Why I Fucking Hate What I'm Seeing on Good Latimer

Why I Fucking Hate What I'm Seeing on Good Latimer

By Patrick Patterson-Carroll

People have argued about art since the birth of the artist, which was followed shortly by the birth of the critic. If you've seen History of the World Part 1, you probably get that reference. If not, I'm afraid there's no help for you.

Cut to:

I have been a Dallas resident for the bulk of my existence. Dallas is one of those cities that, for someone who has lived here long enough, you really want to love but you can't help but hate. You hate the weather. You hate the city government. You think--

Isn't that annoying? When you read something, and the author is telling YOU what emotions YOU are shifting through?

Anyway, bad thesis statement aside, what I want to write about is our long gone, beloved, "Good Latimer" tunnel that was destroyed a couple of years ago to make room for another train station-- another step in DART's plans for expansion and eventual conquest of the world via North Texas-- and what they have added in an attempt to quell the public's desire to have the tunnel replaced with something beautiful.

Exposition:

Because I am a terrible journalist, I can't highlight the historical significance of Deep Ellum to a T, but it was the site of a Southern Renaissance that ran concurrent with the Harlem Renaissance in the '20's and '30's. Most of the great blues and jazz artists played Deep Ellum at some point.

Any cursory internet search can supply one with that kind of information, but like many others here, I have my own experiences of the area which I shall imbue with the proper sentiment of "nostalgia" if you get me in conversation.


But it kind of boils down to this:

Of course, aside from some killer live shows at Tree's (I was always there when The Dillinger Escape Plan brought their shows to D/FW), which was one of my favorite venues, and my memories of getting blasted in whatever bar (I think the most fucked up I ever got was at St. Pete's Dancing Marlin: a restaurant)-- but honestly demands that I admit that I've had way more fun on Cedar Springs when it comes to just getting completely loaded and meeting/talking to girls-- tranny jokes are welcome; in fact, I insist-- I think what I dug most about the area was the idea. Especially the artistic idea-- accumulation/collaboration-- , of which the "Good Latimer" tunnel was perhaps the best respresentation. Deep Ellum, ideally, is one of the best things about being a Dallasite.

However, the reality isn't so pretty. The reality is that the tunnel is gone...

it was a haven for grafitti artists. Some were good, others not as much. But it was the expression that counted. This wasn't gang banger scribbling or artless tagging shit, either. Well, there was some, but just fucking believe me, okay? Here, look at some pictures (the mating call of the terrible journalist*):

http://www.flickr.com/groups/goodlatimermurals/

These photos have been gathered for perpetuity to facilitate the demand for nostalgia, which, for Dallasites who live and work in the area, has to be flooding back. In the last couple of weeks, the DART station on Good Latimer has been gradually unveiling (though not officially) the pieces of artwork that are to make the station "Ellum friendly." One is on the east side of Good Latimer on Swiss Ave. and the other is on the west side on Gaston Ave..

Apparently it's a three piece:

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/DART-spends-more-than-a-1-million-on-art-despite-fare-hike.html?corder=&pg=1

Perhaps I'm being hasty considering the project has not yet come to completion, but these pieces look like monstrosities. They appear to be aluminum or steel, and while they tie together a unifying theme, the fact that they are not in the same vein as the original works that were removed reeks of corporate plasticity (Strange talks about this often, and I think what I'm seeing-- doubtless what anyone else who drives, walks, or rides a bus through that section is seeing-- is conformation of this). I suppose we should thank DART for making an attempt to replace what they've shamelessly destroyed, and maybe it will, in the long term, bring Deep Ellum "back to life," but for now, I think it looks like shit, and I don't have a lot of hope for an aesthetic improvement.

If anyone else has any insight or information as regards this project please comment. I'm interested in getting all the info I can.

*I'm not knocking photojournalism, by the way. Gordon Parks was an amazing photographer, and he was one of my favorites.