A look through the tunnel with Krog!
The Atlanta Fringe Festival has kicked off and one of the shows not to leave unseen is Krog! put on by Sob Songs of the Gilded Age. The Krog tunnel, an eyesore to some, a work of wonder to others, is a part of Atlanta’s vast history and is about to celebrate its 100th birthday. Below, Brian Bannon talks about the ever changing art space, the love of creation, and the stories that unfolded.
For show times, check the AFF schedule!
Q. Your show, Krog!, is a part of the Atlanta Fringe Festival and commemorates the tunnels 100th anniversary. Why was it important to showcase this Atlanta location icon?
A. I live near the tunnel and can walk there. Bill Taft, my co-hort, used to live in Cabbagetown and can bike to the tunnel. It’s a very convenient space for us to use as our Walden Pond. We can play music in it, write stories about it, take pictures or interview people going thru. It never fails to fascinate. It’s become a beloved public space, the People’s Cyclorama.
It’s 100th birthday gives us an excuse to look back to 1912 and 1913 Atlanta and see what we find. History haunts us all. Playing songs from the ragtime era and projecting silent films on the wall gives the Krog a ghostly feel.
Q. The show is moments of history as seen through the eyes of the Krog, how did you pick what to depict?
A. We do a show each month and look for a theme. Most are hundredth anniversaries: the Titanic sinking, the 1913 New York Armory Show, the murder of Mary Phagan or the Rite of Spring premiere. Others are inspired by the space or our interests. We did a Tuberculosis show with depictions of TB in plays, opera and country music from throughout time plus newspaper accounts and pictures of anti-Tuberculosis campaigns in Atlanta. It was macabre but very moving.
Q. The Krog tunnel is literally constantly changing due to the ever rotating artwork and painted on promotions, did this come into play while producing this show?
A. We got drowned out a lot. By honking cars, hooting cyclists, freight trains and hecklers. But that’s the nature of the Krog. You strive to paint a masterpiece but know someone’s gonna write “Fuck” over it the next day. It forces you to just enjoy the process. The idea of time and space as a palimpsest, a fixed canvas that gets reused over and over, came up a lot. Art layering on top of art. Art peeling away over time.
Q. What was your favorite historical moment that you found out about when going through the research process?
A. Steve Seaberg came to one of our shows and told about the design and creation of the 8 murals on the CSX wall near the Cabbagetown side of the Tunnel. He designed them and some neighborhood activists demanded CSX put art on the walls. It put what we’re doing now on a timeline. People have been making art before us. People will be making art after us. We just have to make our own art as best we can.
Q. What can audiences look forward to and take away from Krog!?
A. Projected images, live music and lots of stories. Tales from Atlanta history and the past year and a half. Hopefully the audience will leave with a strong sense of place. Namely, what an interesting place the Krog tunnel is. It’ll make you want to write “Fuck” on something.
