I posted this on Jav's fbook before I saw he had linked it here as well:
It's kind of unfair for them to call out other artists for older work when Commonwealth themselves just arrived at this position, right? (There have been links to info about the Great Garbage Gyre floating [heh] around the internet for at least two years now, but all of the sudden it's on Vice so everybody's talking about it again) And besides, some of the other projects they cite are based on taking material out of the waste stream, not putting it in. (Specifically, the G. Lynn Toy Furniture project that won the Golden Lion in Venice is all about reuse and recycling)
Oh no, SevenSixFive, we are not 'calling out' any artists or architects here- It's just the opposite- we are implicating ourselves in this whole toxic mess, not only because we've been using just as many plastic bags as anyone else for the last 35 years, but more profoundly, we realize that artistically these designers who sometimes glorify plastic culture, are important to us- we think of them as our background, our mentors, our springboards, if you will.
We honestly love these plastic projects- We love them for their color, their form, and for the fact that everything feels so excessively right about them. We feel good about the richness of those scumaks. And then again, when we are reminded of the material effect of it all- (Thank you, Vice Magazine for your report on the Plastic Vortex Soup), it presents a bit of a conundrum, to say the least.
We applaud GregLynn for his resourcefulness by bringing discards into the brave new world of precise digital modeling and cutting. And we do want to find an alternative to this way of making. But I think it is first important to recognize that our addiction to plastics isn't just a functional issue, or a matter of habit. It is also a cultural impulse, one that is emotional and has become part of our art and our history.
Maybe by first recognizing that, we can then begin to invent other works, other projects, other material effects that don't just 'solve-the-problem-of-how-to-bag-my-sandwich-without-using-a-plastic bag' but in a more lasting way, make a new tiny corner of art culture that is just as emotional, but without having to engage a synthetic chemical processes that are coming back to bite us in the ass.
For now, all we can say is: It ain't easy, but we're working on it..
Thanks a lot for the clarification, Zoe. I get it, it's a work in progress (one of many things that we're all trying to do). Definitely respect that. It didn't come through that way from your blog post!
It's an interesting set of issues that isn't going away anytime soon. I wanted to point out in particular the GLForm project, because it's a departure/ enhancement from the normal mode. (Disclaimer: I used to work there, wasn't involved with this project, but some friends of mine were)
Maybe I'll revisit what I wrote. Did you have a look at the 'This American Life' Interview posted above? Super.
By the way, we were very sadly aware of the 'PlasticVortex', as it was covered in this FANTASTIC movie: Addicted to Plastic . It is maybe an even better movie than the Vice Magazine report since it covers the history of the material, thinks about its ubiquity, and investigates alternatives..
We are using wax right now in the studio which, as Wikipaedia points out, is the original plastic of the cheese industry. I'd take it one step farther to argue that, cheese itself, is a kind of original plastic... no?
We will see.
Oct 15, 09 12:31 pm ·
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related, aired 13 November 2008,
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec08/plasticocean_11-13.html
This American Life (Originally aired December 5, 2003):
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=253
NPR (Originally aired July 13, 2003):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1335573
I posted this on Jav's fbook before I saw he had linked it here as well:
It's kind of unfair for them to call out other artists for older work when Commonwealth themselves just arrived at this position, right? (There have been links to info about the Great Garbage Gyre floating [heh] around the internet for at least two years now, but all of the sudden it's on Vice so everybody's talking about it again) And besides, some of the other projects they cite are based on taking material out of the waste stream, not putting it in. (Specifically, the G. Lynn Toy Furniture project that won the Golden Lion in Venice is all about reuse and recycling)
Oh no, SevenSixFive, we are not 'calling out' any artists or architects here- It's just the opposite- we are implicating ourselves in this whole toxic mess, not only because we've been using just as many plastic bags as anyone else for the last 35 years, but more profoundly, we realize that artistically these designers who sometimes glorify plastic culture, are important to us- we think of them as our background, our mentors, our springboards, if you will.
We honestly love these plastic projects- We love them for their color, their form, and for the fact that everything feels so excessively right about them. We feel good about the richness of those scumaks. And then again, when we are reminded of the material effect of it all- (Thank you, Vice Magazine for your report on the Plastic Vortex Soup), it presents a bit of a conundrum, to say the least.
We applaud GregLynn for his resourcefulness by bringing discards into the brave new world of precise digital modeling and cutting. And we do want to find an alternative to this way of making. But I think it is first important to recognize that our addiction to plastics isn't just a functional issue, or a matter of habit. It is also a cultural impulse, one that is emotional and has become part of our art and our history.
Maybe by first recognizing that, we can then begin to invent other works, other projects, other material effects that don't just 'solve-the-problem-of-how-to-bag-my-sandwich-without-using-a-plastic bag' but in a more lasting way, make a new tiny corner of art culture that is just as emotional, but without having to engage a synthetic chemical processes that are coming back to bite us in the ass.
For now, all we can say is: It ain't easy, but we're working on it..
Zoe.
Commonwealth.
Thanks a lot for the clarification, Zoe. I get it, it's a work in progress (one of many things that we're all trying to do). Definitely respect that. It didn't come through that way from your blog post!
It's an interesting set of issues that isn't going away anytime soon. I wanted to point out in particular the GLForm project, because it's a departure/ enhancement from the normal mode. (Disclaimer: I used to work there, wasn't involved with this project, but some friends of mine were)
Well thanks for your questions, SevensixFive.
Maybe I'll revisit what I wrote. Did you have a look at the 'This American Life' Interview posted above? Super.
By the way, we were very sadly aware of the 'PlasticVortex', as it was covered in this FANTASTIC movie: Addicted to Plastic . It is maybe an even better movie than the Vice Magazine report since it covers the history of the material, thinks about its ubiquity, and investigates alternatives..
We are using wax right now in the studio which, as Wikipaedia points out, is the original plastic of the cheese industry. I'd take it one step farther to argue that, cheese itself, is a kind of original plastic... no?
We will see.
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