Everything Must Go SomewhereCourtney Alice MichalikSenior IP Thesis4.21.10

InthemiddleofthePacificOcean,thousandsofmilesawayfromanycontinent,millionsofplasticparticlesarefloatinginthewater.Thisplastichasbeendescribedassnowyconfettiagainstthedeepbluewaves.Vastfieldsofsyntheticmaterialsfloatatthesurface,swirlwithinthewatercolumn,andeventuallysink.Insomeplaces,alandscapeoftrashexistsontheseafloormorethan2,000metersdown.Thereappearstobenoplaceonearthwhereevidenceofhumanconsumptionanddisposalcannotbefound. TheplasticamassinginthePacificOceanhasbeenreferredtoastheGreatPacificGarbagePatchandestimatesarestaggering,perhapsencompassinganareatwicethesizeofTexas.Thisestimateisfarfromstaticasthe accumulation increases each year and researchers are findingsimilarmassesofrefuseintheAtlanticandIndianoceansaswell.Fiftyyearsago,mostflotsamwasbiodegradable;nowitis60–80%plastic.TheUnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramhasestimatedthatthereare46,000piecesoffloatingplasticineverysquaremileofocean.Astheplasticbreaksdownintosmallerparticlesitisingestedbymarineorganismsandentersourfoodchain.Introducingthismaterialtoafinelytunedecosystemisboundtohaveconsequencesandscientistsareworkingtofigureoutthecomplexramificationsofthisproblem.Thefactthatsolittleisknownabouttheinfluenceofplasticsonmarineecosystemsisfrightening.Ashumans,wearealteringourenvironment,perhapspermanently.Theplasticrefusewecreatebecomesatoxicspeciesofsyntheticorganism,whichisfindingitswaybacktous.Myworkgrewoutofanattempttoimaginethissuspendedseascape. Marineplasticpollutionhasbecomethemajorinspirationformythesis,Everything Must Go Somewhere. Iwouldliketoshowmyaudiencethetruetragedyoccurringinourworld’soceans,butIwouldalsoliketoavoiddesigninganoverlysimplifiedcampaigntoendtheproblem.Asaresult,Ihavecreatedaseriesofunderwaterplasticinstallations,whichIphotograph.Theinstallationsaremadeoutofreusedplasticmaterials,asplasticisthemaincomponentinouroceans’garbagepatches.Inthefinalexhibition,Ireinstalledtheplasticsculpturesinthegalleryalongwithaprojectionofmyunderwaterimages.

WorkingonEverything Must Go Somewherehasledmetocreatebothsculpturalandphotographicpieces.Asaresult,myprocesshasdevelopedmanylayers.Icollectmaterials,sortthem,manipulatethem,putthemunderwater,photographthem,editthephotographs,andfinallypresentthephotographsandsculpturalformsinagalleryspace.Thisprocesshasevolvedoverthecourseofthisyear,yetthereisstillalotofroomformetocontinuetoexpandandexplore. IfIexpecttotalkaboutawastefuluseofresourcesIneedtochoosemymaterialsaccordingly.Usingplasticthatwasgoingtobesenttoarecyclecenterorlandfillismorerelevanttothework,andpreventsmefrombecomingahypocrite.Idon’tbelievethatIcanchangeanyone’sbehaviorifIamnotanalyzingmyownresourceuse.Thisiswhyreusingplasticproductsissoimportant.Oneofthefirststepsinmyprocessisgatheringmaterials.Iperiodicallyvisitacoffeeshopacrossthestreetfromthestudiosandcollectallofthemilkjugstheyhaveintheirrecyclebin.Idonothavetocollectthemeverydayinordertohavemorethanenoughmaterialtoworkwith.Thispartoftheprocessalonehasgivenmeabetterunderstandingofjusthowmanyplasticcontainersoursocietyusesanddiscards. OnceIhavecleanmilkjugsinhand,Icanbegintheprocessofcuttingthemintopiecesandreconstructingthem.IhavefoundthatIamdrawntoshapesandformswithroundededges.AsIworkwiththematerialIfindmyselfcuttingtheplasticintocellularshapes.Whilemakingthepieces,Ioftenfeelasiftheorganicshapesaretakingonalifeoftheirown.MyprocessinvolvesatimeconsumingaccumulationofsmallpiecesofmaterialandIhavebeguntoseethatmyprocessmimicsothernaturalprocessesofgrowth.ThefirsttimeIactuallyputtheformsinwater,themovementofthepiecesreinforcedtheideathatIwasmakinglife-likesculptures.Theywouldalternatelyfloatandsink,movingwiththeflowofthewater. Photographingsubjectsinthisnewenvironmentprovidesawholenewsetofchallengesandwaystoexperiment.Withinthephotographicprocesstherearesomanyvariablestoexplore,includinglighting,manualcamerasettings,andimagecomposition.IhavefoundthatIrespondtomanyimagesinwhichthemotionoftheplasticbecomesevident.Themotionblurallowsforachangeinthetoneoftheimagesandoftencreatesabstractforms,makingordinaryobjectslessrecognizable.Materialsbehavedifferentlyinwater.Theyareneverstatic.Theyareconstantlymovingandlightcontinuouslychangesanddancesaroundthem.AsIphotograph

mypiecesinthisnewenvironmenttheymovelikeanewspeciesofsyntheticorganism. TheconceptofplasticasasyntheticorganismalsoappearsinscientificresearchabouttheNorthPacificGyre.CharlesMoore,thefounderoftheAlgalitaMarineResearchFoundationstudyingplasticpollution,describestheissueinasimilarway.“Ironically,thedebrisisre-enteringtheoceanswhenceitcame;theancientplanktonthatoncefloatedonearth’sprimordialseagaverisetothepetroleumnowbeingtransformedintoplasticpolymers.Thatexhumedlife,our‘civilizedplankton’,is,ineffectcompetingwithitsnaturalcounterparts,aswellaswiththose life forms that directly or indirectly feed on them.” Essentially,ourplasticrefuseisatypeof“civilizedplankton”,asyntheticelementthatnowinteractswiththeenvironmentinnewandpotentiallydestructiveways. TheconceptsandideasregardingEverything Must Go Somewhere haveclearlybeeninfluencedbyscientificresearch,butmyaestheticdecisionsarealsocontinuallyinfluencedbyanumberofvisualartists.ClaudiaBorgna,TaraDonovan,andBeiliLiuareallinstallationartistsfromwhoseworkIdrawaestheticinspiration.Eachoftheseartistshaveworkedwithdisposablematerialssuchasplasticbags,straws,Styrofoamcups,andstringinordertocreatepiecesthattranscendthemundanenatureoftheoriginalobjects.Theirinstallationsachieveatremendoussenseofatmosphere.IamstrivingtoachievethesamesenseofatmosphereIfeelfromtheirwork,andIamalsointerestedinexploringthearrangementofamultitudeofsimpleobjects.AnuntitledworkbyTaraDonovanmadefromStyrofoamcupsmimicscellularstructuresduetoheruseofrepetition.Iusemilkjugstocreatethemajorityofmywork,butthesimpleshapesthatIarrangehavealsobeendescribedbyothersasspores,cells,kelp,salps,andotherorganicforms. DespitenumerousaestheticsimilaritiesbetweenthepiecesImakeandtheworkoftheseartists,Ifindmyselfquestioningthedifferencesintheconceptualbackgroundsoftheworks.Theartistsdonotmakeapointofnotinghowtheygettheirmaterialsandwheretheirmaterialscomefrom.Reuseorrecyclingdoesn’tseemtobeakeyconceptualcomponenttothework.ClaudiaBorgna,however,hasdiscussedthewaysinwhichhumanconsumptionfactorsintotheworkshecreates.

TaraDonovan

TaraDonovan

ClaudiaBorgna

BeiliLiu

Borgnawrites,“InthepastyearsIhavebeenlookingathowrubbishandmanmadeobjectsareverymuchtransformingandcreatingnewlandscapesandbecomingmoreandmoreintegratedintonature…theplasticbagsareahumancreationandthereforenaturalappendixofman.Onecouldarguethatwhateverismanmadeisnaturalandthatultimatelynatureisanunstableandunreliablehumanconstructionruledbysocialandculturalneeds.”Borgnaistouchingontheenvironmentaldebateaboutwhetherhumansareapartofnatureorseparatefromnature.Ifhumansareapartofnature,thenonecanarguethateverythinghumansdoisnatural.Thisargumentcanbeusedtodefendpollutionasanaturaloccurrence,voidinghumanresponsibility.WhileBorgnaappearstobeawareofthisenvironmentaldebate,sheisusingarttoexploreandquestiontherelationshipbetweenmanmadeobjectsandnatureratherthanadvocatingforasolution. TheboundarybetweenadvocacyandfineartisadebatethatIhavecontinuouslyencountered.Aesthetically,Iaminterestedinmakingbeautifulwork.IdeallyIwouldliketocreatemovingandinspiringimages.IampassionateabouttheoceanandIwouldlikeotherstosensethatastheyviewmywork,butIdonotwanttocreateacampaignthatwouldbetoodullandsimpletoaffectothers.Iwantmyworktohintatthelargerenvironmentalissuespervadingtheworld’swaterresources;theissuesthatrequiresignificantthoughtandnewprocessesofbehavior.Ratherthanfocusingonacampaignthatmightbetoosimplisticorsimplydisregarded,Iwouldliketowalkthelinebetweenscienceandartandexaminetheboundariesbetweenstrictlyvisualworkandstrictlyeducationalwork.EdBurtynsky,aphotographerwhodocumentslandscapesalteredbymanexplains: “Wearechangingthenatureofthisplanet.Wearechangingtheair, wearechangingthewater,wearechangingtheland…Therearetimes whereIhavethoughtaboutmyworkandputtingitintoamorepoliticized environment.IfIsaid,‘thisisaterriblethingthatwearedoingtotheplanet’ thenpeoplewilleitheragreeordisagree.Bynotsayingwhatyoushouldsee, thatmayallowthemtolookatsomethingthattheyhaveneverlookedatand toseetheirworldalittledifferently.Ithinkmanypeopletodaysitinthat uncomfortablespotwherewedon’tnecessarilywanttogiveupwhatwe have,butwerealizethatwhatwearedoingiscreatingproblemsthatrun deep.It’snotasimplerightorwrong.Itneedsawholenewwayofthinking.”

InasimilarwayIwouldlikemyworktobeaboutprovokingthoughtratherthanhandingoutsimplesolutionstoacomplexproblem.Mychallenge,however,willbeindecidinghowmuchinformationtooffermyaudienceandhowmuchtoholdbackinordertoallowforamorepersonalinterpretation.Thisissuetrulyaffectseveryonebecausewateraffectseveryone,butitisultimatelyuptoeachindividualastowhetherornottheywillchangetheirlifestyle.Ihopethatmyworkwillenterthedialogaboutmarinepollutioninanewway,

EdwardBurtynsky EdwardBurtynsky

causingpeopletothinkabouttheissuefromadifferentperspective.Themorepeoplecontemplateenvironmentalproblemsinawidevarietyofways,themoreinfluencestherewillbepromptingchange. Thefinalinstallationconsistsofaloopofprojectedphotographssetamongtheplasticsculptures.Thiswasdonewiththehopethatthespacewillcreateanewenvironmentfortheaudiencetostepinto.Inthisnewenvironmenttheymaybeabletoseethecyclesofhumanresourceuseinanewlight.Theprojectedimagesandsculpturesareinitiallyjustbeautifulobjects,whicharedifficulttoidentify.Ihopethattheviewer’sperceptionwillchangeastheybecomeawarethattheworkisinfluencedbymarinepollutionandmadeentirelyoutofrefuse.TheartiststatementthatIhavepreparedfortheworkshouldalsohelpinformtheaudienceaboutitsscientificbasis.Ibelievethatasuddenmomentofunderstandingfortheviewercanbeaverypowerfulqualityofthepiece. IbelievethatEverything Must Go Somewhere willserveasastartingpointforfuturework.Iaminterestedinexploringanumberofnewdirectionsbyworkinginnewlocationswithhigherqualityequipment.IhavecometorealizethathigherqualityvideoworkcouldbecomeanaturalextensionoftheworkIhavecompletedthusfar.Myworkthisyearhasonlysparkedmyinterestinusingrecyclablematerialsanddiscardedobjectstocreateart.Icontinuetobeinspiredbythepossibilityofmakingpowerfulworkoutofobjectsthatwereonceregardedaswaste.Finally,Iwouldliketocontinuetocreateworkthatissimultaneouslyinspiringandtroublingtotheviewer.Thewatercontainedonourplanetisourmostpreciousresource,anditisacommonbondonwhichwealldepend.IhopethatIcanexpresshowbeautifulwateris.Ashumans,weneedtoberemindedofhowcriticalwateristolife,andhowtragicitsdestructionwouldbe.

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