Cool stuff happens when you do the right thing.
Richard Lang, the sculptor, was doing a volunteer project cleaning up the evasive plants on Point Reyes National Seashore, California when he and his son noticed all the debris that had been washed up on shore.
Thinking they would clean up and dispose of all the trash, they returned the following week with garbage bags. Only Richard realized that he would just be putting it in a landfill which didn’t solve the problem in his eyes. As he was thinking about what to do, he started sifting through it and decided it wasn’t garbage at all–it was material for sculpture.
Judith Selby, an artist who had been picnicking at the beach thought the very same thing. Three years later she entered Richard’s fine art print store to get an estimate and he asked her to stroll that very beach. Both of them started to pick up the brightly colored plastic as they walked—and a connection was made. Not only in art, but in love.
Richard and Judy are married and collaborate on art projects regularly.
Their first exhibit, “One Beach, One Year” was created with one year’s worth of plastic found on Point Reyes’ Kehoe Beach.
Horrifying and beautiful all at once, the impact on the public was not without conflict. ”People chide us all the time for making it look so beautiful….”
I don’t really understand that since the good that comes from this type of art is obvious on so many levels.
Besides being really interesting and quite beautiful in its way, it really does make so much more of a statement that a “DO NOT LITTER” sign.
“Steampunk”- part of the permanent collection at the Cavallo Point Lodge in Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
This is so gross…..And I love it.
Because of the detail, Army men are the easiest to spot in the sand and in the surf. They are usually missing parts and worn down from the waves…kind of a spooky irony.
Plastic tabs from beverages….who knew?
I’d like to think that all of this stuff accidentally fell out of people’s pockets by mistake or didn’t make it into the beach bag. It’s hard for me to imagine that in 2012 people still litter!
Pretty thought provoking stuff…glad there are artists like Richard and Judy.
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pictures courtesy of National Parks magazine.
Thanks for reading,
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Very cool, Amy! Thanks for the awesome comment you left on my blog recently regarding internet overexposure, etc. I loved it – well said! Have a Happy 4th! xo
I know an artist in Bandon, OR, who does the same! And I salute them all! Both for the artistry and for bringing attention to catastrophic ocean littering. It really hits a home run with me.
Love to you pretty lady and happy 4th!
(I have not forgotten you – just need a break from that square screen… (: )
Mon
Amy ~ Thanks for a different perspective on art. The expression, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” comes to mind. Like you, I just don’t understand the concept of littering. I do love that they have created beauty where there was none before. A great read today. Thanks!
It’s a bummer that people that intentionally “trash the beach” with plastic tabs, bags, etc. are making the same environmental impact as the poor kid who forgot his army men. Either way, it’s great to see people clean it up – regardless if they make something “beautiful” with the remains or not!