In my 39 years of living in Memphis and frequently visiting before that, I have developed a complicated love for the people here. They make splendid art and music and food. Except when they don’t. The culture is easygoing, the faith strong, the sports fun, the community generous. And the opposite, too.
Photos don’t lie, say some. Nonsense. All photos lie, but some impart great truth. I’ve managed to get a bird’s-eye view of our town as well as images of people at work, at rest, and in contemplation. All here are Memphians, or have a lot of Memphis in them, and I admire who they are and what they do. And maybe the opposite, too.
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Photograph by Jon W. Sparks
Cindy Marlowe, Nu-Life Shoe Repair, 2017
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Photograph by Jon W. Sparks
Fairgrounds, 2017
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Photograph by Jon W. Sparks
Michael Finger and Michael Donahue, Little Tea Shop, 2019
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Photograph by Jon W. Sparks
Working men done for the day, Summer Avenue, 2017
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Photograph by Jon W. Sparks
Professors Tom Lee and Dolph Smith, Memphis College of Art commencement, 2018
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Photograph by Jon W. Sparks
Robert Wolfman Belfour, Beale Street Music Fest, 2013
