The document proposes artistic trash cans in the form of animals for New York City, specifically Roosevelt Island. The trash cans would clearly designate recycling and waste bins. Animal-themed trash cans could provide a safe, child-friendly environment while being an ironic statement about humans forcing animals to consume our waste. Locating them on Roosevelt Island could introduce public art to the pristine location. The cans would have identifiable animal designs that aren't too cute or grotesque, possibly depicting book characters to encourage children to read.
2. Trash should be beautiful
• Found art, a popular form of public art, is
about making trash beautiful.
• Go straight to the source.
• Make disposal beautiful.
• Trashcans should be attractive, but also
practical and easy to empty.
4. • Tokyo also has an extremely systematic and
fairly attractive system.
5. But NewYork could do better.
• We could have ARTISTIC trashcans.
• Specifically, we could have animal trashcans--ones
that you would feed trash too.
• It should be clear which ones are recycling trash
cans and which are not. So signs would have to be
obvious.
• This could also be an ironic statement about the
environment. Humans constantly force animals to
eat the waste we dispose of.
6. • “Animal art, unlike other playground surfaces,
was almost never damaged by vandals”
--Park Commissioner Henry J. Stern
• Animal trashcans would provide the same safe
atmosphere.
7. Location: Roosevelt Island
• Roosevelt Island has essentially no public
art.
• It has a very pristine atmosphere.
9. Ideas I toyed with:
• Character cans--possibly too annoying?
• “Hi, I’m Pete. I like to eat paper.”
10. • Book characters: like Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland, or Frog and Toad, byArnold Lobel
• This would encourage small children to read, or
relate their lives to what they read.
11. • To some, book characters are too trite.
• But animal designs that have the same personality
and spirit of those book characters could achieve the
same affect.
• Children enjoy the picturesque trash cans and
cleaning up after themselves more, and adults might
feel nostalgic and feel safer in a child-friendly
environment.