Houston, TX – A unique calendar featuring abandoned street couches from Houston, created five years ago by the late renowned journalist John Nova Lomax, has been brought back into public consciousness by his son, John Lomax V. The project, which playfully documented the city's discarded furniture, highlighted Lomax's distinctive journalistic eye for the overlooked details of urban life.
John Lomax V, a reporter for the Houston Chronicle, shared on social media, > "5 years ago my dad made a calendar with a different abandoned Houston street couch for each month," drawing attention to his father's unconventional artistic endeavor. The calendar served as an extension of John Nova Lomax's widely recognized "Street Couches of Houston" photo series, where he chronicled the city's ubiquitous discarded sofas.
Lomax, who passed away in May 2023 at the age of 53, was celebrated for his ability to find meaning and beauty in the minutiae of his native city. His work, which appeared in publications like Texas Monthly, Houstonia Magazine, and the Houston Press, often focused on the idiosyncratic aspects of Houston's culture and landscape. The street couches became a recurring motif, reflecting a fragmented city back to itself with a blend of humor and poignant observation.
The "Street Couches of Houston" series garnered significant local attention, transforming what might be considered urban blight into a form of accidental public art. Lomax's fascination with these abandoned items underscored his broader journalistic approach of documenting the city's less glamorous, yet equally telling, elements. His ability to convert photos of these discarded items into "local icons" was a testament to his unique storytelling.
His legacy as a keen observer of Houston life, from its dive bars to its peculiar urban phenomena, continues to resonate. The resurfacing of his street couch calendar serves as a reminder of John Nova Lomax's singular contribution to Houston's cultural narrative and his enduring impact on how the city views itself.
