Class project turns trash into public art

    Plastic bags, bottles, newspapers, flowers and caution tape were just some of things that students and faculty could see around campus last week.  This was all part of the exhibit “Wrapping” that was hosted by assistant art professor  
Sang-Wook Lee’s 3D design class.
    “Wrapping” was a public art exhibit that incorporated many small projects that were located around the GCSU campus.  This type of public art involved the artists wrapping site-specific objects using some kind of fabric or fiber material.
    “I gave the students a main concept,” Lee said.  “I simply wanted them to go from normal to abnormal.  From there, they were separated into six groups of three and everything else was up to them.”
    Liz Ballard, a sophomore art major, said this project made her much more aware about the environment.
    “My group was responsible for the project ‘recycled art.’ We wrapped trash cans on campus with caution tape to make people stop and think about what they are throwing away,” Ballard said.  “We also provided several bins for them to recycle stuff they would normally throw away. This project made me realize the lack of recycling on campus; it’s sad.”
    India Barfield, a junior art major, was also a group member of the recycled art aspect of the exhibit and said the group was inspired by the Environmental Science
Club.
    “The Environmental Science Club had just recently done the waste audit where they went through trash around campus looking for things to recycle,” Barfield said.  “That event helped inspire us to do the caution tape and place recycling bins around campus.”
    Dana Tyler, a sophomore exercise science major, was happy to see that there was an effort to make people more aware about recycling.
    “When I saw the caution tape wrapped around the trash cans I was a little unsure of why it was there,” Tyler said.  “Once I figured out why it was there though, it helped to remind me to put my trash in the recycling bin instead of in the trash can.”
    Another part of the exhibit was a huge spider

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web that caught the attention of many students.
    Sophomore Ryan Branch enjoyed the spider web that was put up on Front Campus.
    “At first, I thought that GCSU had put the spider web up just because it was close to Halloween,” Branch said.  “Once I was told that it was part of an art exhibit, I just thought that it was really neat and well made.  It must have taken a lot of hard work.”
    Art majors Zach Elliot, Allison Bishop and Denise Chambers strung flowers across the benches of Front Campus hoping to inspire people to sit there.
    “It seems that everyone sits on the lawn around Front Campus,” said Elliot.  “No one ever sits on the benches and we were hoping that by putting the flowers there that it would make people want to sit on the benches instead of the grass.”
    Chick-fil-A seemed to be getting the most attention due to a table that was wrapped with objects that had to do with fast food.
    Art major Necca Wren was part of the wrapping of the table and hoped it would make people more aware about obesity in this country.
    “Chik-fil-A was an excellent location to get the point across,” Wren said.  “We are an obese country and we just wanted to make students aware of the negative side of fast food.  I am not saying don’t eat it, but just don’t eat it every day.”
    The pathway was transformed into a walking art exhibit and many students seemed to enjoy it.
    Tyler Pursell, a sophomore music major, was part of the wrapping of the trees between Atkinson and the Registrar’s building.
    “We wanted people to walk through the alley way and see something different,” Pursell said.  “We wanted students to be overwhelmed.”
    Courtney Olney, an accounting major, always thought the walkway was quite dull until the “Wrapping” exhibit gave it a new look.
    “I found myself sitting on the benches and admiring the things that were around me,” Olney said.  “I might not have understood exactly what it meant but it gave that pathway a pleasant look and I liked it.”
    A bus stop located near Sodexho was draped with sheets that looked like curtains and a coffee table with cups was also placed there to make it look more comfortable. 
    Sarah Davis, a sophomore art major, was in the group that transformed the bus stop into a more relaxed environment. 
     “Students are far from home and a bus stop looks cold and lonely,” Davis said.  “The point of wrapping the bus stop was to make students feel as if they were at home even though they might be far away.”
    Liz Ballard, sophomore art major, felt a sense of pride once she actually saw the completed exhibit that her class had worked so hard on.
    “I feel accomplished from doing this project. I liked how my group advocated an environmental cause, and hopefully it will raise awareness to school officials about recycling,” Ballard said.  “This project should show students that even though some of the installations weren’t ‘pretty’ they are still art and still have a purpose. This was my first public installation and I loved having it on campus.”
    If you missed out on the “Wrapping” exhibit make sure to check out Lee’s 3D class’ puppet show and fashion show that will be taking place later on this fall.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 20 2006. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry