Trash Art

Trash Art has been in the back of my mind for a while now, not just because of the documentary Wasteland. As an art teacher, supplies are a big part of my job. Living in such a wasteful world, it makes sense to do more trash art with the kids. I have started to think of how to develop the projects, and started to create some of my own in the process. This website is very inspiring.

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/12/non-trashy-recycled-and-trash-art/

Tim Nobel & Sue Webster:

Tim and Sue met while they were studying Fine Arts in University together. Now they are best known for their art made from trash collected from the London streets, which shows an image when light is projected in front of it.

Sarah-Jane van der Westhuizen:

The art is created from old car parts, recycled metal pieces, and anything the artist could get her hands on. Van der Westhuizen has installed several of these trash sculptures all over Europe.

Michelle Stitzlein:

Stitzlein creates art from found materials such as piano keys, broken china, and other recycled items.

Mark Langan

Langan creates art from reclaimed cardboard and other materials. Scream was created from corrugated cardboard and other recycled materials. Langan works with non-toxic glue, an exacto knife, and a lot of patience.

Tyree Guyton

Guyton created the Heidelburg Project as an urban renewal project, transforming a rundown section of Detroit from a place where people were afraid to walk to an art exhibition that people wanted to visit.

Wasteland

It's been so long... here's one that I don't want to forget... it reminds me of JR

http://www.fastcompany.com/1698070/wasteland-lucy-walker-vik-muniz-jardim-gramacho

Paintings without Paint

http://nymag.com/arts/art/reviews/unpainted-paintings-saltz-review-2011-4/

JR - Ted Winner - Quickly Became a Favorite Artist for Me

TED Prize Winner JR & INSIDE OUT from TED Prize on Vimeo.

Neuzz

Street Art in the UK

Street Art and Reality on Hanbury Street, London. from Shafiur Rahman on Vimeo.

Improv Everywhere

An actor started various improv situations in public space, such as a food court musical about needing a napkin and this... no pants subway ride....

Do I have the guts and motivation to join?

I heart NY

A few months ago the NY Times had a contest asking people to redesign the I heart NY logo. It was inspired after seeing what Milton Glaser did to the logo for Jet Blue.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/09/22/nyregion/nylogos.html

Organically Obsessed

Although it's a few years old, it's still relevant. I think that it's becoming more popular, but we still have a long way to go...

People Watching

People in the streets of NYC...

Old man playing the clarinet in Brooklyn Heights (smiled after the pic was taken)

Old woman searching through the newspapers near Union Square

Punk teens in the East Village

Playground Project - Success!

During student teaching I had students create a playground sculpture using paper...

StoryCorps... What a great idea!

As newspapers evolve and the news of what's happening is being communicated online more and more, storycorps is growing. It's an online archive of bits of life stories from people around the world.

The Human Voice from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Paul's Uncle's Pens

Speaking Out Against Trafficking in India through Photography and Video

When Paul and I went to Arles International Photo show in 2008, we saw this video that stuck out in our minds... possibly forever. This photographer took photos of women who have been victims of trafficking and other aspects of women's oppression in India. Each woman dressed up to express her experience.... a character of protection.

Halloween Parade

I didn't know about all of these giant paper mache puppets that they have every year. Would be a great project to create one.

Shaun The Sheep

I am addicted to this animation by Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Grommit. However, I am sad to hear that the kids at school know Shaun the Sheep as a Disney cartoon.

Shaun The Sheep - Click here for funny video clips

Art Shows - Dumbo Arts Festival and MoMA's Rock Paper Scissors

I attended two art shows recently, the 2010 Dumbo Arts Festival and MoMA's abstract expressionism exhibit titled Rock Paper Scissors.

The Dumbo Arts Festival did not show anything that stuck out in my mind. All of the galleries showed art attempting to push the boundaries of what we consider art to be. I sat in the park by the water and did some people watching around the neighborhood in addition to seeing the art. The art on the streets was as interesting as the art in the galleries.

(2629 take out meals are consumed every second in the USA)

The Rock Paper Scissors exhibit was unexpectedly very good. I usually think of painting when I think of abstract expressionism, but I loved the sculptures in this show.

The Sensational Josephine Baker

Friday night I went to see an off-broadway show called The Sensational Josephine Baker. It's almost unknown because it has not been widely marketed and is only in the theater for a few weeks. For some reason, I usually love these types of performances.

The one woman show was written and performed by an emerging playwright, Cheryl Howard. She was really great! From her portrayal of Josephine Baker to her hilarious portrayal of a jealous show girl who knew Josephine Baker but was not as successful, all of her characters were full of emotion and the costumes fit well.

The play gave a summary of her biography and I thought that it highlighted the differences in the racial climates between America and France in the early-mid 1900s. Josephine Baker's reason for pursuing a career in France was largely due to the desire/need to escape racial oppression in America. It was well done.

Missing David LaChapelle

Keeping up with the artists and gallery shows throughout the city is not easy when you are not fully in the loop. However, when you are involved in the arts, you often hear about various shows. I recently found out about a gallery show by photographer David LaChapelle, but was unable to attend. I really don't like when I miss shows, but it happens.

David LaChapelle had a gallery show called American Jesus at the Paul Kasmin gallery. I can just look at his website to see glimpses of this show as well as the numerous works that comprise this prolific photographer's career. His dramatic/theatrical scenes often incorporate celebrities and rightfully so... If I could be in his photos, I would be so excited.

Some of the American Jesus photos included Michael Jackson - "Shown for the first time in New York is part of a series which began over a decade ago including three large-scale photographs depicting Michael Jackson as a modern day martyr. Of all of the subjects LaChapelle has portrayed, Jackson unquestionably lived one of the most epic and dramatic lives of our time. Such sentiment is shown with biblical connotations and is hauntingly represented in these images."

Storm King

As the summer came to an end, my husband and I decided to visit Storm King during a day trip to upstate New York. It was both of our first times being there. I did not realize that it is 500 acres! We stayed 2.5-3 hours and only saw a small part of it. However, it was enough.

We were able to see a variety of sculptures. There was one stone sculpture of a giant open peach pit by Noguchi that is a symbol for the famous Japanese fairy tale - Momotaro (Peach boy). It was fun to sit of it and the children around really loved it.

Other sculptures were more unknown and abstract. It was a sunny day and the shadows casted by the sculptures was a very interesting part of the day. Below are two photos of a white metal sculpture that offered lots of great shadows:

In general, it was fun to examine the textures of all the sculptures. The photos below show polished steel, bamboo, rubber tires and graphite covered wood:

This was my favorite sculpture because it kept us wondering how it was made: