Elvis Memorial Garden, Memphis, TN, November 2015

When in Memphis (and I missed posting this page), we took an early morning visit to Gracelands to see the memorial gardens where Elvis is buried. The house and gardens were at there best. And interesting to view the  memorial gardens.

Gracelands at dawn

The memorial garden

The memorial garden

National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, TN, November 2015

Of the many museums and galleries that we have visited on this trip, the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis must be the most unusual. As the name suggests, the museum is devoted only to works in metal. It is set in several old mansions, looking down on the Mississippi River. They typically have one exhibition as well as items from the permanent collection. 

The featured artist was Linda Threadgill, who makes the most beautiful ornamental items and jewelry. She works in silver and gold, primarily. To be seen to be believed.

The ornamental gates of the museum

A chalice

Menorah

BBQ in Memphis, TN, November 2015

We had wanted to eat ribs in Memphis, the ribs capital of the world. The NYT recommended the Bar-B-Q shop .. and it was excellent. No dinner that night.

Half with a rub only and half with sauce

Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, November 2015

We visited the Dixon Gallery and Gardens when in Memphis. This is a private gallery, in the house. The gallery has a collection of (at least what it seemed to me) pretty ordinary US impressionist art. What was stunning was the exhibition or massive ceramic sculptures from Jun Kaneko in the garden. Kaneko is a Japanese American sculptor who has his studio in Omaha, Nebraska. 

There was a particular connection for us with this art as there are four of his pieces in the courtyard at the Honolulu Museum of Art, so we immediately recognized  the work.

Memphis, Tennessee, November 2015

From Nashville, on to Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis is famous for the blues and the home of the blues is Beale Street. We visited Beale Street on a quiet Monday .. but the music in each of the several Honky Tonk bars we went to was just too loud. Does music in a bar with 10 people have to be so loud that you could hear it in Nashville? Interesting to visit but not to listen to music, unless you have earplugs -- or are aged under 30.

We ended up at the Withers photography collection, which is right on Beale Street. Ernest Withers was a black news photographer who  photographed current events in Memphis over 60 years. The photographs are both interesting and challenging. Some of the photographs were taken in Beale Street right outside the collection at a time that it was often used for civil rights demonstrations in the 1950s and 1960s.

Beale Street on a quiet evening