June 2007 – Page 28 – Memphis Flyer

Two young women veiled in soft light are talking on a sofa on a Memphis summer night in 1973. One has fallen into a bathtub full of water and put on a blue velour robe to soak up the mess. She had been crying about a boy. Her best friend, wearing a red dress her mother made, curls up to her upset friend and they talk into the morning.

Their names are Karen and Lesa, and they were photographed by William Eggleston, who they knew as “Bill.” He had been taking so many photos that evening that they didn’t pay much attention as he set up lights to capture the beautiful picture.

Eggleston is credited with turning color photography into an art form and inspiring the look of such films as Blue Velvet and The Virgin Suicides. A new book of his work, 5×7, features photographs taken by Eggleston in 1973 of myriad patrons in Memphis bars. This photograph, taken after Karen and Lesa had followed revelers to a friend’s house, is among them.

Read Memphian Emily Yellin’s story about the photo in Smithsonian magazine.

-Cherie Heiberg

People who are into food and dining culture have surely noticed the words “Slow Food Movement” popping up in news stories and features recently. But it’s not a new trend. The Slow Food Movement was founded by Carlo Petrini after he and other concerned Italian citizens gathered to protest the opening of a McDonald’s near the Piazza di Spagna in Rome in 1986. Soon after, Petrini started the Slow Food Movement, which now has more than 80,000 members in 50 countries. The idea behind the Slow Food Movement is simply the opposite of fast food — swapping convenience and anonymous uniformity for something more fresh and personal.

In Memphis, a Slow Food convivium has recently come together, spearheaded by Melissa and Kjeld Petersen, the folks behind the new quarterly Edible Memphis. According to Melissa, the group has more than 30 members, and they’ve planned a number of events to introduce Memphians to the movement. One of those events, on Saturday, June 2nd, is an “Open Garden” at the Magevney House, where volunteers at the historic downtown home have maintained the garden according to mid-1800s standards, cultivating enough produce to feed a family of four and the home’s slaves. Visitors to the Magevney garden can take a tour and purchase seeds and cuttings as well as get information on the Slow Food Movement.

“Knowing where your food comes from — that’s the big thing,” says Melissa of the movement. “It’s making a conscious choice as to where you get your food. Wait for tomatoes to be in season, make the extra effort to go to a farmer’s market because [you] actually know the grower. I know that it’s better for me, and I’ll get a better-tasting tomato.”

The “Open Garden” at the Magevney House, 198 Adams, is 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, June 2nd. There will be another “open garden” event on Saturday, June 9th.