Little Shiva of The Visible Trash Society created this whimsical and though provoking series following the adventures of a little creature called Trash Baby. Each and every entry is worth a look. While you’re on the site, click through the sidebar links. This is just one of Little’s many artistic ventures, most of which related directly to our favorite themes.
Trash Baby making recycled art
Ugh, trashies, forgive my sporadic posting these days. The new day job is all consuming, but that’s no excuse, especially since SO MUCH has been going on in the world of garbage. This weekend was totally saturated with new trash finds, mostly thanks to the fantastic event artist Paul Lloyd Sargent organized on the converted RV known as MLAB. We held a little garposium featuring Robin Nagle, who shared the back story on how exactly one becomes anthropologist in residence for the Department of Sanitation, yours truly who shared the origin myth of everydaytrash.com and Lisa Dowda of Chasing Sanitation. To round out the day, Paul closed with an excellent overview of evolution of trash art (which I wont go into here in fear of spoiling the future guest post I hope to wrangle on the topic).
First off, let me tell you about Chasing Sanitation, a website that Lisa and her coconspirator Liz Ligon hope to make into a book. As the title suggests, they spend a good deal of time chasing sanmen and women and documenting their hopes, dreams and daily lives. The result is both beautiful and compelling.
via ChasingSanitation.com
Check out their kickstarter site to donate to the project and get updates on the book-in-progress’ journey to completion and publication. I know my coffee table feels empty without it. In the meantime, check out ChasingSanitation.com to peruse photos and life stories. And if salt of the earth stories aren’t compelling enough for you, check out this recent Glamour.com story on the creative women behind the site. To raise money and awareness for their cause, Lisa and Liz are awarding a date with one of “New York’s Strongest” for anyone who donates more than $1500. That’s right.
This Sunday (9/19/10), everydaytrash.com is taking part in a trash-themed panel moderated by artist Paul Lloyd Sargent as part of a project called “15 minutes, 15 people” on the Mobile Literacy Arts Bus (MLAB).
MLAB
MLAB is a renovated RV that travels the country hosting educational events. It holds about 15 people, hence the project name. Now through September 24th, the RV is parked in front of the Stephan Stoyanov Gallery (29 Orchard Street). And from 2-4pm on Sunday, Paul will host a panel on the disposal chain that will include trashies like myself and the amazing Robin Nagle, anthropologist in residence for the Department of Sanitation, New York City.
We’ve covered both Paul and Robin’s work in past posts. Most recently here and here.
Robin was also recently interviewed by The Believer so be sure to check that out.
Facebook invite to the overall MLAB event here.
I’m looking forward to filling a trailer with trash talk with these guys plus other trashies! If you’re in NYC, stop on by. And let me know if you’re interested in a trash collecting walk beforehand. Paul is organizing one as part of a larger garbage art project.
Rolando Politi, spiritual leader of the Yanbuki trash worshippers, recently organized a trip to the utopian neithborhood of Christiania, Copenhagen.
Kappo and Lady Kappo
An email summary of events states:
to all world yanbukis, here are the links for the kappo tour and ceremony from this july.
Findings: they never thought about collecting and cleaning and repackaging caps and lids before KAPPO was introduced.
Future: great potential for a bottom up start up of cap enterprise anywhere in the world!
hungry people and redeemers and also creatives should contact [recycleandpray AT gmail DOT com] for more details and know how.
The Trash Worship Network
expanding trash spirituality for ten years and going
Fresh caps
|
|
Roosevelt Island sure is a trash-conscious part of town. Earlier this year I went to check out their trash tubes. Now the island is host to a trashtastic artsy event where people gather old wood, build a wall and decorate it. Please send photos if you go!
via nonsensenyc:
Conscious Cycle is a filmed interactive art event that brings artists and community members together in an effort to explore, educate, and learn about Conscious living and life’s Cyclical nature.
Conscious Cycle consists of the following: We reclaim discarded wood, build a wall out of it and invite artists to paint the wall, one after the other, while being filmed for a time-lapse movie. Mural themes revolve around Consciousness and Cycles. Throughout the event DJs play music, dancers perform, internal artists like yogis and tai chi practitioners teach and demonstrate, artists collaborate, and community members are encouraged to interact with the materials and us.
Three years old, this 8th Conscious Cycle goes down on Roosevelt Island this Saturday and Sunday. It’ll be full of conscious good times, suitable for all ages and it’s free. Please join in and explore your creativity. Plus we like to dance and the music is always great, come get down to the sights and sounds.
Conscious Cycle has been creating their interactive art environment at Figment on Governors Island since 2008, and they are excited to bring their vibe to another island! Come join us for another live painting event this Saturday and Sunday. We’ll have bucket and spray paint. You bring your specific supplies. Let’s make more art.
Roosevelt Island
Right behind the F train stop
Saturday, July 31 and Sunday, August 1
12-5p both days; $free
bit.ly/aO8rvP
bit.ly/8XiXwK
Wow, it’s tipster day. Amy just sent these photos from a Junk to Funk display at the Portland airport. Thanks, Amy!
Junk to Funk
Dress made from recycled blinds
Dress made from recycled coffee filters
Dress made from recycled yogurt spoons
I can’t decide which is my favorite dress. I can say that airports are one of my favorite places to see art. More airports should fight layover lameness with public art.
Artist Paul Lloyd Sargent just dropped a note to share this amusing anecdote. In short: while collecting trash around Brooklyn Bridge Park for a new art project, he encountered some competition…from THREE separate groups cleaning up Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Paul
You may remember Paul from his trash rivers project last summer. Thanks for the link, Paul. We’re looking forward to updates on your future work.
Good news. If you didn’t have a chance to catch Lixo extraordinário (Waste Land) or weren’t in New York the one day it was playing last week at MoMA, you may soon have another opportunity. The documentary is scheduled for wide release in October. This description from the Huffington Post makes me even more eager to catch it when it comes to town for real.
via Huffington Post
The most poignant film in [MoMA’s Premiere Brazil film] festival is Waste Land, which documents the Brazilian artist Vick Muniz as he works collaboratively with catadores (garbage pickers) in Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill, located in Rio de Janeiro. Muniz works with the catadores to produce large scale portraits of the workers. The portraits are composed of the recyclable materials they collect over a three year period. The images are later auctioned and the proceeds go to the workers and the organization that advocates on their behalf.
The journey of their process goes far beyond the traditional scenarios of victims and saviors,Waste Land chronicles the emotional evolution of all the people involved but also challenges the viewer’s perception of their own community, class, and consumption.
Attention New Yorkers: As part of its annual festival Premiere Brazil! MoMA will be screening a film called Lixo extraordinário (Waste Land) next Saturday, July 24 @ 2:00 p.m.in theater 1. Thanks for the tip, Shanti!
Lixo extraordinário (Waste Land)
Check out the provocative description:
2010. Great Britain/Brazil. Directed by Lucy Walker. Co-directed by João Jardim, Karen Harley. This documentary follows celebrated contemporary artist Vik Muniz on an emotional journey to the world’s largest landfill, Jardim Gramacho, outside Rio de Janeiro, and explores his three-year collaboration with the catadores, who inhabit the “trash city” picking recyclables. It tells an immensely powerful story of people at the end of their rope, using art as a means to “recycle” their own lives. In Portuguese; English subtitles. 90 min.
And here’s a trailer off of YouTube:
There are many days when I wake up wishing I lived in Paris, especially when I see things like Facebook updates from artist Douglas Brodoff announcing a new expo of his paintings on display in the 2nd. It’s called “Les Balayeurs,” which means “The Sweepers.” You may recall from past posts that Douglas has an ongoing series featuring the green-clad garbage men of Paris. Another interesting fact about Douglas is that he is trained as a professional clown. Perhaps that’s why the children and trashmen visiting in this photo appear to be so charmed by him and his work: he’s clearly an expert with a crowd!
Douglas Brodoff with French kids and trashmen
This and other photos of the expo made my day. And made me seriously evaluate how long it’s been since I’ve visited one of my favorites cities.
Attention trashies! Gertrude Berg, whom you may remember as the Pick Up Artist, has just completed a gorgeous and clever new project called DumpsterVoid. The idea is this: take all those strangely-shaped scraps discarded by the garment industry and, without cutting them, sew them into fresh new designs.
DumpsterVoid
It’s a treat for the eye, a challenge for the designer and a fantastic reuse for all those identically cut scraps generated by the mass production of clothes. Click through to see more of the collection and creative process.
I’m finally going to see the Fast Trash exhibit on Roosevelt Island this weekend. Sadly, my Saturday schedule does not allow time for this TRASH THEMED MUSICAL THEATER. Sigh. Next year.
Roosevelt Island trash tubes
—
Saturday, May 22, 5pm
Live musical theater “AVAC Memories” in Gallery RIVAA: “AVAC Memories” tells the story of five pieces of household waste who are tossed into a Roosevelt Island garbage can and, together, go on a thrilling journey through the AVAC sanitation system. As they are dropped down garbage chutes, sucked through pneumatic tubes, crunched in a compactor and shipped off to the dump in a garbage barge, our grimy heroes learn some valuable lessons about friendship, courage and perseverance in the face of adversity. Please join us for this short live performance followed by a Q and A with the creators.
“AVAC Memories” was written by Frederick Alden Terry (music) and John Herin (lyrics). The original production was directed by Dev Bondarin and produced by the Prospect Theater Company in April 2009.
I’ve long been a fan of the Haute Trash collective, but my appreciation has grown since joining their Facebook page and becoming privy to a daily curation of the goings on in trashion. Social mediaheads are encouraged to “Like” this page as well.
trashionista
The second annual Freshkills Park haiku contest is over. Check out the winners of the adult and student categories over at their blog.
Whoops, meant to alert the masses earlier on this one. The trash art extravaganza “ScrapCycle (reUSE/reCOMBINE)” opens tonight at Devotion Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Ari Tabei
For more on the opening, click here. For more on the group show, workshop and performances click here. Addmission to each event is a piece of trash, so you know it’s our kind of party. The show runs through May 30th.
everydaytrash 
