Recycled to the Power of Three

A site-specific installation in ArtFields 2015,  Lake City, South Carolina, April-May 2015
Installation Gallery
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Recycled: Site-specific Art Installations on Life Support

International Conference on the Arts in Society
London, United Kingdom 2015

Thomas Houser

Abstract: The two site-specific art installations discussed here suggest environments on life support. The first, Athens to Athens to Athens, was in a juried exhibition that toured three of 28 USA cities named "Athens." The second, Recycled to the Third Power, was in a major curator-juried competition, ArtFields 2015. These installations sprang from a trip to the Murano Glassworks landfill in Venice where art-glass fragments broke through ground surfaces in brilliant rebirths. Canvas prints of the landfill spread down one wall and across the base of Recycled. In both installations, reused recycling bins fitted with industrial tubing invoked comparisons to architectural environments. Openings on these bins featured images of surfaces and places that in some instances were salvaged and in others, defaced. Recycled plastic bottles surrounded and linked the lids and were filled with rainbow-colored water suggesting environmental hope. Photos of litter and trash that spoiled the environment were used, also. Light from inside the containers came through these images and bottles, suggesting an offering to all from the recycling process. The ArtFields installation featured a photo-montage wall of back-lit images, recycled art history slides and fiber-board constructions. Projected videos depicted landfills, recycling centers and environmental issues.

Keywords: Visual Arts Practice, Mixed Media, Art Installations
Stream: New Media, Technology and the Arts