In the February issue of Memphis magazine, I told readers about a remarkable fellow named Stephen Sykes, who constructed an absolutely amazing folk-art house / junk pile / art creation outside Aberdeen, Mississippi, in the 1950s that he called “In-Curiosity.”
Do you remember what I wrote? If not, I can’t help you. It’s pretty much been the main topic of conversation along the Greenline for weeks and weeks. But you can read the whole story here.
Anyway, I illustrated the column with some grainy frames from an 8mm home movie, taken by a Memphis family on vacation in 1959. They were a bit hard to see, so I thought I’d include a few blow-ups of the frames here, along with several pages from the March 1963 issue of Ebony magazine, which featured Sykes and his “do-it-yourself skyscraper. Click on any image to enlarge it, and keep in mind that — yes — this is the man’s HOUSE. Enjoy!
BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT COURTESY EBONY MAGAZINE