If you think you’ve seen some real small and trashy motel rooms, then you need to see the tiny models built by Matt Ramos, a 41 year old Mexican national. Ramos builds these tiny models of buildings with landscaped yards, motels and resorts from material he picks up himself out of the trash.

He was laid off his job as a heavy equipment operator last fall, and he’s now an out-of-work artist (those are the best kind…). His wife Patt works in housekeeping at a motel in Ogden, and since they can’t afford an apartment, they’ve been moving in and out of a series of Ogden motels since then.

Salt Lake Tribune has all the details of this ordinary man’s extraordinary passion. Matt Ramos finds his building materials alongside the road or in trash cans: discarded computer parts, sandpaper, wiring, and toothpicks are among his favorite materials. So is spaghetti — but that he has to buy.

Meanwhile, in Williamsburg, VA, the very inspiration for artists like Ramos is being wiped  out. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the old Williamsburg motels aka motor courts along Richmond Road are “increasingly giving way to mixed-use developments, newer hotels, chain restaurants and retail stores as cash-strapped owners cede their former turf.”

At least 10 hotels and motels have been demolished for construction of hotels, restaurants and retail outlets — mainly along Richmond Road. Even the city’s much-touted High Street mixed-use development sprang from the demise of the Carolyn Motor Court and an adjacent car dealership.

Posted on February 17th, 2009 by Thomas
Filed under: Art & Museums, Hotels