Trash or Art or Both?

January 30, 2007 7:05 AM

The SF Dump's Artist in Residence Program currently features Sudhu Tewari and Nome Edonna but will be welcoming Ellen Babcock and Nathaniel Tookey shortly. Its an idea that's been around for a little while. "Many artists find and recycle materials in their art, but no one else has this much material to pick from," says Program Director Paul Fresina. The 2,000-square-foot art studio is located at SF Recycling & Disposal, Inc.'s Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Center. The 44-acre site is where most of San Francisco's garbage and recyclables are temporarily dumped before going to a landfill or recycling plant. Throughout a residency, each artist talks to young students and adult tour groups about the experience of turning trash into treasures. Previously and via.
posted by fenriq (7 comments total)

Sweet. Thank you.
posted by loquacious at 8:04 AM on January 30, 2007

The Cream of the Crap. What a neat idea.
posted by hal9k at 8:38 AM on January 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

My wife does "found object" sculptures a la Joseph Cornell and Robert Rauschenberg. I'll bring this to her attention. Thanks!
posted by ZenMasterThis at 10:19 AM on January 30, 2007

Very cool. Also, check out our local program, the Energy Xchange, which uses landfill generated gases to fire pottery, run glass furnaces and so on, as well as heating artists studios.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:28 AM on January 30, 2007

I really like the concept of changing the way people think about garbage. That something isn't trash just because it got thrown away and that many things have many lives. I just wish I could pick through our dump and take home goodies if/when I find them.

Here's a direct link to the post on Intellectual Properties where I found this originally.
posted by fenriq at 11:31 AM on January 30, 2007

Low mileage, always garaged
posted by jcruelty at 11:43 AM on January 30, 2007

Coolness!
posted by dejah420 at 6:28 PM on January 30, 2007