Vince Hannemann: Cathedral of Junk

Austin's Cathedral of Junk

Photo by Blake Gordon of Wall Street Journal

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Vince Hannemann's fingers read: JUNK KING, but his ongoing project "Cathedral of Junk" in Austin, TX is part of a much larger than autobiographical narrative: "Writing is the destruction of every voice, of every point of origin," writies Roland Barthes in Death of the Author, claiming that the origin and creator of a text, or in this case cathedral remains secondary to the work itself.  This indelible backyard art project which started in 1988 in Austin has already made its mark and left impressions on thousands of visitors, and vice versa: the "junk" that comprises the cathedral is primarily composed of stuff brought from the outside world by its congregation.

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Although 10,000+ visitors come to see his backyard attraction each year Hannemann's personal favorite visitors seem to be children, which is no surprise considering that he clearly emphasizes imaginative thinking and creativity:

[when asked] What made you want to do this?' Like it had some sort of profound meaning. I just did it because I liked it. And when I stop liking it I'll take it down...I just did it because it was kinda cool, It's my clubhouse. It's fun. Kids, when they come through, they know what it is.

Watch this short film by Evan Burns about the Junk Cathedral

The Junk King from Evan Burns on Vimeo.