Post-Traumatic Artistic Syndrome

Refuse Reuse

Crane Arts Icebox, Philadelpha PA

November 24th, 2012

“Refuse Reuse: Language for the Common Landfill” that accumulated over 10 days at the Crane Arts building in Philadelphia, PA. The exhibition spaces began empty, and during the course of the show, city trash was collected, sorted and reused in both object and idea. A pair of volunteers,[Chris Golas and Joe Digiuseppe] journaling and mapping their experiences independently performed a randomized nightly trash pickup. Upon arrival, bags were sorted and separated, their non-organic contents isolated and sanitized. A large hanger sized exhibition space (and former walk-in freezer) served as the display area for the salvage.The contents of a single bag would be strewn upon a single tarp, either blue or green in color, effectively cataloguing all content across the floor. Another, larger group of artists, writers and musicians worked at various times in an adjacent room, each reinterpreting the textual components from a single tarp (formerly a single trash bag) in order to produce a new text piece. Thus, every written word was sourced directly from trash. Part poetic construction, part automatic writing, these pieces were displayed on the walls as they were completed, and are now compiled here. Visitors were invited to stop by and experience the project as it developed, with both exhibition and publication completed in entirety at the end of the 10-day period, Wednesday November 28, 2012.  — Ryan McCartney

Purchase "Language for the Common Landfill" - 160 page 1st Edition, and additional images from the show at  MCCARTNEY/BELKNAP