Functional Art: talks with Hayden Hall

As Hayden Hall knows best, these days people are just as interested in functional art as they are fine art. In our conversations, he has offered me the advice that people these days are looking for art that is more than a good wall hanger or unnoticed sculpture. They want functional art; art made to be used. Functional art can be as simple as an old pallet taken apart and put back together as a wooden canvas for painting and added hooks, mechanical parts repurposed as a candle stick, to more elaborate pieces like a Module truck door  turned into a masculine frame for a bathroom mirror. Here in the delta native people have collected and curated fading objects from decades that have since flashed by like rolling credits at the end of a movie. Those items and trinkets need someone to see their potential as a repurposed piece in someone's artwork. Mr. Hayden is a home-grown creative spirit. He is a Mississippi native and has turned his passion for repurposed / functional art and love for food into a small-town grocery and catering store called Oxbow. In an adjoining building that is connected to the store, he has a gallery / showroom that he displays local finds, artifacts, and the art that his wife (Erica Hall) and him create. When they host a pop-up restaurant, they use this showroom as a small sit-down and eat place for their customers. I find their store a relaxing, hometown, refuge where I can escape the pressures of the day, enjoy talking to my friends (Mr. Hayden & Mrs. Erica Hall), and an artist oasis. Oh. and occasionally I find my favorite food; Hayden's very own Tuna Tacos! You know those questions about what would you take with you if you where going to be stuck on a deserted island? Well I would take Mr. Hayden's Tuna Tacos and my iPhone so I could post articles to my blog! 

(Display window of Hayden Hall's Oxbow)

(Locals enjoy Mexican Colas and Tuna Tacos during a pop-up taco day at Oxbow)

(One of my Tuna Tacos that I took a picture of because I wanted to savor the flavor!!!)