Landfill

Watch the Trailer for Waste Land, a Documentary About Beauty and Trash

WASTE LAND Official Trailer from Almega Projects on Vimeo.

Jardim Gramacho, outside of Rio, is the world’s largest landfill. In a new documentary called Waste Land, Vik Muniz, a Brazilian-born, Brooklyn-based artist, returns to create portraits, made from the trash itself, of the so-called “catadores” who work there.

It looks like an interesting peek at a subculture you’re not likely to be exposed to otherwise, a helpful reminder that we’re creating incredible volumes of trash, and a nice example of the redemptive power of art.

Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world’s largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores” — self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Director Lucy Walker (DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, BLINDSIGHT, COUNTDOWN TO ZERO) has great access to the entire process and, in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.

9Thirty Theatre Company presents The Birds

THE BIRDS

by: Aristophanes

Directed by: Aaron Gonzalez

Composed by: James Stewart

Preview: August 8th

Runs: August 10th-15th & 17th- 21st

Showtimes: @ 8PM | Sat. matinees @ 3PM | Sundays @ 7PM

Admission: $15 (advance) $18 (general), $12 (students and seniors with valid ID)

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

TEL 866.811.4111

Place: Greek Cultural Center | 26-80 30 Street, Astoria, NY 11102
Directions: Click here.


The Birds is set in a landfill/crow’s nest, and inhabited by half-puppet half-man trash art creations, our protagonist’s seeks fortune with a plan that hinges on Man’s “out of sight out of mind,” mentality. The old adage, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” rings true and he prevails by defeating his enemies with their own greed.

Performed by: Freddie Bennett, Patrick Bonck, Matthew Jellison, Nicole Hodges*, Kim Ramirez, & Eric Sutton*
With Lighting Design and Stage Management by Michael Beyrouti, Costume Design by Dana Dobreva, Puppetry by Lillian Clements, Composition by James Stewart, and Set Design by: Aaron Gonzalez
*Appearing Courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association
Equity Approved Showcase

Art From The Ashes

UPCOMING EXHIBITION: ART from the ashes is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of independent artists and volunteers who contribute their talent, time and energy to create art for resource. Artwork is crafted from materials collected from fire site locations after personal items have been removed. Debris that would otherwise be cleared and dumped into landfill is gathered and transfigured into one-of-a-kind works of art through the unique vision of each artist. ART from the ashes then hosts a charity exhibition showcasing the art that has been created from the reclaimed fire site materials. A portion of the proceeds from each exhibition is donated to a local or national charity chosen by the business or individuals impacted by the fire.

In the ART from the ashes spirit of “Support. Inspire. Create. Renew”, scrap metal becomes jewelry or sculpture, wood becomes a canvas for painting and ash creates glaze for ceramics. Every piece takes on a new life in celebration of a place that is rich with history. These materials carry the legacy of their former home and by transforming them into a new shape; they become a wonderful physical memory. There is also a generous heart in every one of the artists who donate their time and talent to participate. ART from the ashes is grateful and proud to be a portal for their work.

Mission Statement:
ART from the ashes is about transformation. Our goal is to provide a cathartic avenue to communities affected by wildfire by transfiguring fire site debris into beautiful works of art. By using reclaimed materials as our medium, we hope to inspire & support the heart, mind and planet.

“It’s not what you look at that matters, its what you see.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

About the Founder, Joy Feuer
On October 24th, 2007, Joy Feuer was driving on the highway listening to NPR’s All Things Considered. California was in the midst of one of the most devastating fire seasons in our history. NPR’s Michele Norris was interviewing Captain Martin Johnson as he shared what it was like to be on the front lines fighting a fire. Their exchange would become the catalyst for Joy to create Art From The Ashes.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=15604130

Opening June 19, 2010
ART from the Ashes Gallery
216 S. Brand Blvd
Glendale, CA 91204
Click here for more info

via Art From The Ashes.

Childsplay Theater’s Sustainability Survey Notes & an invitation

Thank you to the 40 theatres that participated in Childsplay’s sustainable materials survey. Here are the results:

  • The majority of respondents (20 theatres) purchase 100-500 sheets of luan plywood per year…that’s roughly 75,000 linear feet of wood that is sourced primarily from tropical rain forests.  If only 20 theatres are using 75,000 linear feet, imagine how much our entire industry consumes on an annual basis!
  • 58% of participants throw away most or all of their scenic material at strike.  At our summit, most shops estimated filling at least one large container per strike…added together, that’s quite a landfill.
  • Not surprisingly, the most common reasons for not saving materials are lack of storage space and the labor costs associated with dismantling/moving materials.
  • Of those theatres that send materials to external recyclers, steel and aluminum are far and away the most common choices.  Steel and wood are the materials most frequently saved for re-use.
  • 30% of participants are already researching or implementing “green” material alternatives: using MDF in place of luan wherever possible, looking for less toxic materials, etc.
  • 66% of participants report re-using at least some stock pieces.
  • 50% of participants would be willing to budget 5-10% more to purchase sustainable materials.
  • 55% of participants would partner with other theatres for bulk purchasing of sustainable materials; another 42% would consider it for specific projects.
  • Less than 20% of participants recycle wood during a strike.  There is a common mis-perception that the wood and steel from flats or other structures cannot be recycled unless they are dismantled and stripped of hardware.  We learned from a regional recycler that not only could we recycle our flats without completely dismantling them. Paint and fasteners were also not an issue for recycling. These are new developments (at least in AZ) that have occurred within the last three years. Many recyclers will actually send a container to your site, reducing both labor and transportation costs.

Since sending you the survey, we have made a contact at a bamboo product manufacturer who is willing to take a look at our needs for the luan replacement.

On February 26th, we held our first sustainability summit. You can read about our first meeting at the TCG blog:http://aha.tcg.org/2010/03/welcome-to-first-sustainable-stagecraft.html
Childsplay will be recycling or keeping the majority (if not all) of the scenery from our final show of the season. I’ll report back to you all about how stage-to-recycling goes at the end of May.
And finally, we have two more days of sustainability meetings coming up in May. We will explore the production process from the initial idea stage through opening night. The focus will be on opportunities for open and synergistic communication between production staff and designers.
anthony runfola
production manager | childsplay
480.921.5721 (o) | 480.921.5777 (f)
Sybil B. Harrington Campus for Imagination and Wonder at Mitchell Park
900 S. Mitchell Dr., Tempe, Arizona 85281

Inhabitat » GREEN RANT: Lame Eco-Art

1. Rock Stackers. Your skills are amazing. You can stack rocks higher and prettier than I ever could. You’re even kinda like Andy Goldsworthy, yes, of course. And I’m sure the process is amazing for you, and that the stones talk to you, and you get that beautiful in-tune-with-nature hum.  But I’ve see so many rock stacks at this point they blur together. My eyes glaze over.

2. Tr-art. This is a combination of terms: “trite trash art.” Thank you for rescuing all of those bottle caps, six pack rings, and other crap from the landfill. Thanks for making them into portraits, blankets, sculptures and people. Trash is now a viable medium. But you are not always making eco-art:  sometimes you just happen to make art with trash. Conversely: just because you made it with trash doesn’t mean it is powerful art.

3. Statistic-a-thon. Recycling one can saves enough power to watch 6 episodes of Law and Order. At this rate all of our children will be dead in 20 years. We need 16 more planets if we want to keep watching Comedy Central. Etcetera, etcetera.  I am so inundated with guilt-soaked statistics. Stop finding new ways to slap me in the face with them. If it’s powerful to you then help me understand why. See: Chris Jordan, who does an excellent job of making numbers real.

4. Eco-Snobbery. As a recovering eco-snob myself, I understand how hard it is to stop calling everyone out on their perpetual green sins. It sucks. There are to-go containers everywhere, and everyone drives, and not everyone composts, and what the hell?!?! The icebergs, people! The icebergs! But just because you make eco-art does not mean you have license to aggrandize. We’re a population of pots and kettles. Don’t mistake your good work for a kind of personal superiority. This is true of green culture in general, but it’s especially apparent in accusatory or guilt-trippy art.

via Inhabitat » GREEN RANT: Lame Eco-Art .

30 Things You Should Never Compost or Recycle | Lighter Footstep

Remember the good ole days — back when we only had one bin for trash? In retrospect, those days were actually more wasteful that good. We sent things to the landfill that might have nourished our yards, and buried them side-by-side with materials which should have been reclaimed and put back in the production chain.

Today, most of us have two bins: one for compost, and another for recycling. They’re great for reducing curbside trash. But not everything is suitable for one bin or the other.

We’ve rounded up thirty things people mistakenly try to compost or recycle. In the case of composting, we chose items generally avoided by experienced compost gurus. For recycling, we’ve picked things prohibited by most municipal sytems, or of limited use to commercial recyclers. Ready? To the bins!

via 30 Things You Should Never Compost or Recycle | Lighter Footstep.

Pioneering Future Figures: The Harrisons

In the eco-art world there are few folks as significant as the collaborative duo of Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison (known generally as The Harrisons). Originators of a whole systems perspective in the eco-art movement, they have worked for the past four decades with biologists, ecologists, architects, urban planners and other artists to initiate collaborative dialogues to uncover ideas and solutions which support biodiversity and community development. They work within systems for systems. It’s the future folks and their ideas, while fresh, are as old as humanity.

Can we survive and thrive with beauty and grace?

This is part of a theme that really interest me. The very oldest of human concepts informing our new and unsettling future. Wednesday, June 10, 2009, for example, [sorry: mini plug] the very cool folks at The Long Now Foundation and the new sparkly green David Brower Center in Berkeley, are hosting a talk with the Harrisons (introduced by futurist Paul Saffo). It’s a look at The Harrisons from a 10,000 year perspective. Most art today will be dust or landfill, which is fine, but what did it accomplish that the Earth would notice? Was it worth the big holes dug into hillsides and the CO2 and toxic effluents, fuel and resins? Lots of people beginning to picture what this new world would look like in every discipline and long term planning as art to knit it together is essential. We need more long term art and it’s not about using Archival materials.

Go to the Green Museum

ECO ART: Plastic Bottle Installation in NYC

ECO ART: Plastic Bottle Installation in NYC

by Olivia Chen

Sometimes it is hard to truly grasp how much waste we create as a society. That’s why NYC-based graphic design agency, MSLK is creating an installation that is an in-your-face visual of the amount of water bottles consumed in the United States. The installation uses 1,500 water bottles, the number of bottles consumed every 1 second — that’s 90,000 bottles per minute Entitled “Watershed,” the piece is meant to inspire its viewers to consider the collective environmental repercussions of drinking bottled water over tap. The installation is showing at the Figment Art Festival, open from June 12-14 on Governor’s Island in New York City. Click through to see a video of the installation’s assembly

Watershed Assembly at MSLK 5/24/09 from MSLK on Vimeo.

Environmental conscious-ness has certainly strengthened in the past few years, but plastic, whether in the form of a bottle, bag or other types of packaging, are still everyday objects in most people’s lives. Furthermore, most people aren’t disposing of plastic responsibly: according to MSLK, 80% of water bottles still end up in the landfill. Not to mention the toxins that exist in plastic. Bad for the earth and bad for your body, there is no excuse Especially in New York City, where the quality of tap water is superior, DRINK TAP

via Inhabitat » ECO ART: Plastic Bottle Installation in NYC.

The concrete-domed radioactive landfill of Runit Island

This via Pruned, (which possibly does itself a disservice by calling itself merely a landscape architecture blog):

Picture caption: (According to the Brookings Institution, “beneath this concrete dome on Runit Island, part of Enewetak Atoll, built between 1977 and 1980 at a cost of about $239 million, lie 111,000 cubic yards or radioactive soil and debris from Bikini and Rongelap atolls. The dome covers the 30-foot deep, 350-foot wide crate[r] created by the May 5, 1958, Cactus test.” Photo by the Defense Special Weapons Agency. Thanks, Capability B., for the link.)

Go to RSA Arts & Ecology