Beware the Mindfield: Quirky Outdoor Art in Brownsville, Tennessee

[Brownsville, TN] — The artist calls it The Mindfield, but it’s really more of a mind f*#¢.

Sandwiched on a narrow plot of land between a barbershop and an appliance rental store, The Mindfield is a massive outdoor metal sculpture, said to be the largest in Tennessee. Brownsville artist Billy Tripp began the artwork in 1989, using steel girders and other salvaged metal; among the installation’s parts are a salvaged water tower and a fire tower.

The sculpture’s soaring steel girders represent events and details of the artist’s life.you can read more about art here. It’s a constantly evolving work, and Tripp plans to be buried at the site when he dies. When your building or facility is equipped with fire door exits, you add a considerable level of protection against catastrophic damage to your structure. These exit barriers are at the very core of fire protection (which include walls, ceilings and floors as well). They are a part of building’s passive fire protection system – a requirement of all public buildings, offices, and factories. They interrupt smoke, toxic gasses, and flames from spreading from one area of your building to another. In other words, they create tiny compartments inside your building or facility, so that if fire has erupted in one compartment, the rest of the facility (and workers) can remain safe. What makes these barriers so important is that they address the issues caused by a normal barrier. Normal doors are a breach in fire protection. They are not self-closing nor contain the required latching device like ones designed for fire protection. Being self-closing is a vital component because, in reality, many doors are left open for the convenience of workers. You can visit this site right here for the CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION. While some believe that fire doors should not be held open, in reality they can be, so long as they are capable of automatically releasing once a building’s fire alarms sound off. Passive Fire Protection it isn’t just getting fire extinguishers logically placed in any development, is not the full answer to fire safety. For the best safety purpose  you have security cameras at your site and here you will get the brief idea about how motion sensors work in security cameras. Ask yourself are you aware exactly where your extinguisher can be found, and also would you know how to make use of it, additionally, on what sort of fire? The answer then is probably no, the actual extinguisher can help suppress a little fire, nevertheless without in-built fire protection in the fabric of the structure, the potential risks of containing a fire as well as avoiding it being a flaming inferno may drastically increase Fire will take absolutely no prisoners, and as a consequence practical reduction approaches are very important in order to avoid tragedy, but each and every day these smart precautions are generally thrown away due to expenditure, lack of knowledge, or perhaps looked at as unnecessary by trades-people. Consider: if you know a building is actually dangerous, would a person head into it? The most obvious response is no, yet everyday numerous buildings are created and restored using precious little thought offered, to containing any fire in case of an outbreak. Restrictions and their enforcement perform an important role in cutting down injury as well as fatalities, but many additional lives could be saved when wise practice were to prevail. Many of us have witnessed the results of an elementary school science lesson, of putting a lit candle in a cardboard box and then sealing the box up in order to deprive the fire flames of oxygen. When the same principle of sealing and fire preventing had been carried out on any brand new build project, or perhaps repairs, then the actual benefits would be apparent, property will be properly fire protected. With stricter rules, many builders and contractors are actually progressively more responsible regarding the work these people carry out. For too long, contracts have been completed fairly quickly, at the cost regarding fire safe practices and when catastrophe happens, fault is sometimes hard to verify. Even so, with the expansion of law suit businesses featuring ‘no win, no fee’ marketing promotions, it is essential, that fire security work is completed to stop litigation because of loss of life or injury.

It’s easy to miss The Mindfield, located in the small West Tennessee town of Brownsville about 65 miles northeast of Memphis. At first glance, you might mistake it for a power station with its tangle of grey steel girders and flocks of birds circling overhead. But I’d been alerted to its existence by Sonia Outlaw-Clark, director of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville.

“It’s just right off our courthouse square, and lots of people come here to see it,” she told me. “Most people consider it folk art. It’s very interesting, and [Billy Tripp] is a very interesting character.”

I didn’t get to meet Tripp, but I admire his spirit and dedication to his work — although not all the locals apparently do. “Some of them hate it,” Sonia told me.

I guess art’s not art unless it’s ruffled a few feathers.

PHOTO GALLERY:

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MORE ABOUT THE MINDFIELD:

From Roadside America: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/7403

Billy Tripp’s website: https://sites.google.com/site/billytripp/

West Tennessee Cultural Odyssey website: http://www.westtnculture.com/mindfieldInfo.html

Tennessee tourism: http://tnvacation.com

West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center: http://westtnheritage.com