what was almost thrown away

June 2, 2018 6:20 PM

Paper, board, the back side of anything, glue, hot glue, tape, staples and what was almost thrown away. I turn them into very small objects that hold distinct memories. By Lydia Ricci.
posted by carter (21 comments total)

These are really beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:37 PM on June 2, 2018 [2 favorites]

Man those cigarette machines...they banned those for exactly the reason that I used to use them (easy to buy from when you are like 14)
posted by thelonius at 6:51 PM on June 2, 2018 [3 favorites]

I'm 55 and these all resonate with me. I’ll be a bit freaked out if this artist is under 30.
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:01 PM on June 2, 2018 [3 favorites]

So cool!
posted by delight at 8:25 PM on June 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

Wow, those are amazing. So well done, and just triggered an immense wave of nostalgia for me. Great find!
posted by drinkyclown at 8:39 PM on June 2, 2018 [4 favorites]

Oh my, these are fantastic--thanks for posting this! I'm visiting my parents and we just spent the last few minutes exclaiming delightedly over these--"That looks like our old blender! That looks like your tape recorder! We had that same TV!" etc. I think she must be at least mid 30s to remember all this stuff...
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:49 PM on June 2, 2018 [2 favorites]

These are delightful! And wow, that takes me back. I don't remember when I last saw a cigarette machine.
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:51 PM on June 2, 2018 [2 favorites]

These are great. I bet they take forever to create and require a lot of skill to make. There's a show at the MoMa now that's similar, but it's cityscapes made of cardboard.
posted by xammerboy at 1:21 AM on June 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

These are also on show in New York, from June 7 to September 7.
posted by carter at 4:23 AM on June 3, 2018 [3 favorites]

Those are wonderful Recognized them all and still have many of them, even the cigarette machine!
It has been in the cellar for years, my brother bought it when Rowe Manufacturing that made them went out of business. It contains no cigarettes and is rusty after years in the cellar.
posted by mermayd at 4:32 AM on June 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

I love how much texture and detail these have! The way the bits of text and printing add depth, the layering of the paper, the not-quite-parallel lines and not-quite-perfectly-square corners give them so much personality.
posted by nonasuch at 5:45 AM on June 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

For anyone in or near NYC, (or willing to travel to see tiny sculptures in person,) her website advertises an exhibition at an architecture firm near Wall St., June 7 – September 7, 2018.
posted by D.Billy at 5:58 AM on June 3, 2018 [3 favorites]

These are wonderful and so much fun! Thanks for sharing your great find.
posted by danabanana at 7:46 AM on June 3, 2018

Not just a Dodge, it's a Dodge Dart!
posted by lagomorphius at 8:55 AM on June 3, 2018

I actually gasped when I saw the motorcycle.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:58 AM on June 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

I know, Johnny Wallflower! My mom was particularly taken by the motorcycle too. She kept saying how talented the artist must be. "That motorcycle!" she'd say.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:45 AM on June 3, 2018

Wow, those are amazing. I’m in my mid 30s and a lot of those items are surprisingly evocative. For example, I still remember what it feels like to trip over that sprinkler while playing.
posted by ghharr at 10:16 AM on June 3, 2018

This is very cool. It reminds me of some of the art that i saw at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland in March.
posted by 4ster at 12:20 PM on June 3, 2018

Just finished Lionel Shriver's novella "The Standing Chandelier," in which an artist makes an elaborate chandelier of such objects, and thought "oh sure..."
posted by mmiddle at 2:24 PM on June 3, 2018

I love these. It's as if someone is living in a postapocalyptic world and re-recreating familiar objects from scraps because that's all they have, and they want to preserve the memory of these objects for themselves and for others. It's like a museum of Things that Used to Exist.
posted by Too-Ticky at 4:02 AM on June 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

(I meant re-creating, not re-recreating. I got distracted halfway through typing the word.)
posted by Too-Ticky at 4:17 AM on June 4, 2018