avad

The highlight of my whole Miami trip might have been meeting and talking with this artist at Pulse. Hermann Huber has been documenting the Zabbaleen in Cairo (a garbage community) and has fascinatingly haunting photographs and videos...You may know this is one of my major interests...in Cambodia and Nicaragua...for cyclecraft blog, etc. He's also doing a project in Buenos Aires.I bought the book which he signed and I am eager to learn more from his experience. we will meet again when he comes to ny in the spring and hopefully correspond in the meantime.

I have been looking through the book and treasure it. The photographs have such a strange quality of peace to them…as foreign and difficult the imagining of working amongst and within mountains of garbage is…where in most of our daily lives we distance ourselves from it as much as possible and nearly always create several membranes and barriers to protect our skin from touching it…..as one goes through the book there is something that happens….from looking into the eyes of humans who seem so accepting of it and comfortable within it….

To even know that it is humanly possible to accept it is a strange wisdom offered to viewers through these portraits.
The beauty of the photographs can be talked about at length as well. I'm reminded of Powaqqatsi.... Perhaps my favorite film. Baraka as well…

I have so much I would like to talk with him about…explore. My interest in the garbage communities is multilayered. I am trying to see more and understand. with human society and natural systems, resources and recycling, but also so many philosophical and perhaps spiritual questions….He reminds me that his work is not about poverty...and I slowly understand and it is a revelation of sorts. Because I realized how I had been blinded by the poverty...blinded by my reactions which did not allow me to truly See the people . His photographs are perhaps the closest I've come to understanding something quite complex about existence and humanity and connection. I’m still a person struggling to understand the world past and present and my best role within it present to future. So many unformed questions regarding economies, tradition, progress and individual freedoms and happiness. The book also brings to mind many of the confusing issues of historic social castes, stigmas and prejudice related to livelihoods…..it makes me more curious of the points/areas of integration….when/if there is much mingling with the world outside the area and how that is…
I still do not accept the condition, especially as it relates to children and women..but am interested in exploring with more depth and subtlety the nature of the system and also hear the voices of those who comprise it so as not to impose overly simplistic and naive 'solutions'.
So many things to consider:
one interesting tidbit:
This informal human garbage sorting system of the zabbeleen supposedly recycles 80% of the garbage that reaches the dump. 80%(!). We here in the states with our elaborate privatized and mechanistic recycling systems do not reach even 30%.
Our out of sight, out of mind mentality cannot be sustainable...
what then is? who of us would Choose the lifework of the zabbeleen? or perhaps it is a more gradual mass movement of reuse and open channels of post-consumer trade. (ebay, upcycling, reconstruction, freecycle,consignment and thrift etc)..which uses a human sorting system as well...

So I go to see my friend Jane's show in the permanent collection gallery of the Islip Museum...and then there just HAPPENS to be a show in the main galleries that is allllll on recycled art?? I can't believe how perfect this is to where my head is at.

Making the Most of It
September 19 - November 18
Reception: October 14
"Curator Karen Shaw presents artists who critique our consumer culture and
wasteful ways by turning mundane throw-away materials into fantastic
treasures."
:):):) (Karen Shaw also curated the show I was in there 'The Nature of Things' last year)

THIS piece was my favorite!! I love it so much that I'm sad that I didn't make it!! ever get that? cellular information ittybitties all obsessively rolled up?...*drool*
Nava Lubelski
1997 Tax File- 2007
shredded financial papers, glue



and just for my current shredder lust...there is an interactive centerpiece to the next room: le shredder.(?!!?) as you enter the room you are handed a piece of colored paper (old flyers) to shred to add to the sculpture. (!)

( see more/read more )

Brainstorming art and life projects using special recycled materials..doing some research and comparisons.

Plastic Lumber(from their FAQ):
IS PLASTIC LUMBER ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND?
YES. First, plastic lumber is made of 100% recycled plastic which would normally end up in landfills. Second, plastic lumber can't leech and contaminate the soil because it is non porous and contains none of the chemical hazards associated with pressure treated and creosoted lumber. Third, the manufacturing process is a clean, extrusion process. Fourth, plastic lumber saves trees and rain forests. Finally, plastic lumber is 100% recyclable.

Trex:
Trex decking is made from post-consumer and/or post-industrial reclaimed plastic and waste wood. The reclaimed plastic comes primarily from grocery sacks and stretch film, and the waste wood is from woodworking manufacturers.
Unlike plastic lumber, which is typically 100% plastic, Trex decking is approximately 50% wood fiber and 50% plastic. Because of the wood content, Trex has the advantages of low thermal expansion/contraction, natural UV stability, good traction and paintability, and Trex decking is just as easy to work with as wood.

B and I enjoyed this presentation last Saturday at one of our favorite new galleries in our area:
art sites (art+architecture), 651 W. Main St., Riverhead, NY

NO IMPACT MAN
Presentation by Colin Beavan

No Impact Man is a one year experiment by journalist Colin Beavan, where he tries to have no net impact on the earth. In his own words he describes what he is doing:

"A guilty liberal finally snaps, swearing off plastic, goes organic, becomes a bicycle nut, turns off his power, composts his poop and, while living in New York City, generally turns into a tree-hugging lunatic who tries to save the polar bears and the rest of the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his baby daughter and prada-wearing, Four Seasons-lonving wife along for the ride."

Who could expect the impact of one man’s experiment? His blog (noimpactman.com) has sparked a reaction from and conversation with the world. Since the NY Times wrote an article on his efforts on March 22, 2007. His blog now averages 2,233 visits a day and has had more than 270,000 visits as of May 24th. He has since appeared on television shows, The Colbert Report, Nightline and Good Morning America. (He will be on the latter ABC program throughout 2007, with Diane Sawyer, his next appearance being on June 21st. ) He is coping with interview requests from media in over 40 countires and has been interviewed onseveral NPR shows. His efforts have sparked interest at a time when the impact of an individual seemed futile against the immensity of the earth’s plight."

I think it's just a great way to bring awareness to some of the many things we can change in our daily behaviors to help sustain our planet.

The exhibition in the gallery was Really interesting as well: Called to Action: Environmental Restoration Projects by Artists.