A Recyclable or a Cherished Perishable?

While our world’s population grows and more things are manufactured and consumed by us, recycling is a great topic to discuss via public art as communities everywhere are searching for ways to reduce landfill clutter. Yet in order for the message of these works to be effective, the focus should be made clear. One local public art project, though having some interesting pieces, didn’t quite come through to me concerning where the significance truly lies.

The Phoenix North Transfer Station Project, commissioned by the city of Phoenix, features photographic works by artist Paho Mann which use objects that were collected throughout the city as residential solid waste and dropped off at a North Phoenix transfer facility, and now await to be sent to a recycling facility. Mann creates a variety of visual item arrangements ranging from poignant (children’s drawings and homework) to abstract (layers of metal colors) to simply color-coded (purple plastics), but the point of these displays seems unclear: Are we looking at things to be surely used again, or are we examining the sentimental value of the discarded items themselves, regardless of whether they end up transformed into new consumables or dumped in the trash heap?

When I consider that the project is intended to bring attention to the idea of recycling, and then look at pictures of items carefully posed but not demonstrating any action or role related to this idea, I assume that I’m looking at examples of trash that once had meaning and purpose but have no indication that they will be used for any further cause.

If Mann could do something in the project’s works to push further the idea of recycling, I would suggest arranging the items into new forms – perhaps the kids’ art and homework find their way onto a living community canvas as a receptacle for all kids’ contributions? Or the color-coded items become a new generation of useful products for diverse needs, in colors all across the spectrum? I think that artistically making a case for the benefits of recycling would certainly bring a positive and engaging awareness to the public and give the art pieces themselves a firm grounding for what they stand for.