Category: 1 - Richmond STUFF

July's Featured Artist + Resource 07/03/2009

Trash, an Alphabet City Media book edited by John Knechtel and published in 2007 is an almost pocket-sized book in which artists, writers and filmmakers look at how we are defined by what we waste. Trash surveys a terrain that ranges from micro (a typology of dust bunnies) to macro (studies of landfill design and the trashed space of urban brownfield sites). It investigates the logic of trash as it is applied to humans and looks at lives intimately dependent on trash, delving into electronic waste, Nick Cave's Sound Suits, the abducted girls of Juarez and a futuristic portrayal of zero-waste cities in China.

Since 1998, American artist Michael Rakowitz (b. 1973) has collaborated with homeless people and worked with readily available materials including plastic bags, polyurethane tubes, hooks and tape to build inflatable shelters. This project, known as paraSITE, has had prototypes installed in urban environments of Baltimore, Boston, and New York City. ParaSITE has been exhibited by MoMA and MassMOCA.

ParaSITE's structures are custom designed as shelters for homeless people. They attach to the exterior outtake vents of a building's HVAC (Heating, Ventalation, and Air Conditioning) system. Appropriating the HVAC system on existing architecture, warm air leaving the building simultaneously inflates and heats the structures. Building and distributing these temporary structures that have lead to much civic debate, examination of the fine print in certain city laws, and the occasional involvement of law enforcement, Rakowitz offers neither a solution to homelessness, nor a cynical social commentary. ParaSITE instead reminds us that art may of course be functional, impact and benefit individuals outside the gallery's white walls, and engage communities, provoking thought around a serious issue present on the streets of every city.

Rakowitz currently teaches in the Department of Arts, Theory and Practice at Northwestern University. You can learn more about paraSITE and other works by Michael Rakowitz at http://rakowitz.reticular.info/.

-Lisa

The Lorax and Jason Mecier 05/04/2009

0 Comment(s)

featured artist + resource

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss is the first of a series of books being featured by Stuff that are relevant to its mission of environmental awareness, creative reuse, and education. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is a children’s story about protecting the environment. Seuss creates a fantastic place in his imaginative world to teach children about environmental themes, including pollution, consumerism, greed, and protecting natural resources. The Lorax is an indescribably curious creature that speaks for the trees that have been cut down in the story, magically popping out of a stump. The Once-ler, the nemesis of the Lorax, is another creature that cuts down all the trees in the town and uses the silk-like leaves to knit Thneeds. The Once-ler sells his Thneeds for a profit and soon he becomes greedy and cuts the trees en masse. Before long the Lorax is forced to represent not only the trees but other creatures who are affected by the Once-ler’s ever expanding business and clear-cutting of the trees. It becomes a typical tree-hugger that is treated with disdain by the Once-ler. As all the other creatures leave this magical place and Once-ler’s business grows bigger and BIGGER, the images become darker and uglier. The moral to The Lorax is that unless each individual takes responsibility for their environment and natural resources, nothing will get better.

If The Lorax caught your child’s attention (or be honest, your own), the magic continues in the animated short video I found on youtube below.

This month's featured artist is Jason Mecier. Mecier’s “junkdrawer” works are made out of collected stuff arranged into mosaics of famous international stars and celebrities. His celebrity works are well-known by celebrities, artists, and pop culture experts. Stuff is a fan of Mecier’s work because it embodies the concept of creative reuse in a fun way. The artist reuses everday items such as household cleaning products, collections, shoes, toys, almost everything. My favorite celebrity mosaic is of Rue McClanahan just because I adore Golden Girls. But all of Mecier’s attention to detail and pop culture in general is illustrated in his works. For example, the mosaic of Kathy Griffin with the Clay Aiken background truly highlights Griffin’s stated love of the gay community and many references to Aiken. And I love the hot sauce in the background of Margaret Cho's mosaic.

Another distinctive characteristic of Mecier’s work is how he challenges and solicits his fans and audience to get involved by sending him their junk treasures. The beauty of contributing to such entertaining work is that it diverts waste from landfills, creating a piece that speaks to consumerism but also celebrity pop culture. Mecier asks for individuals to send in their junk and simultaneously “clean house” to:
GRANNYS
c/o Jason Mecier
575 Guerrero St
San Francisco, CA 94110
Check out his website for more of his work in his online gallery!

-Elisabeth

About STUFF

STUFF is a community organization in Richmond, Virginia.

The mission of Stuff is to provide Richmond with a community space for creative reuse, education, environmental awareness, and fun stuff.

The vision of Stuff is to become the first community destination for art and reuse supplies and educational materials in Richmond.

Stuff operates under the following core values:

Filling the education gap with Stuff; learning goes beyond the classroom.
Stuff happens; spontaneity breeds creativity.
It's more than just stuff; there is value in our trash.
Taking responsibility for our stuff; we have an obligation to reuse.
Stuff brings us together; community is rooted in cooperation.

About STUFF

Archives