Garbage or Art?

Artist Susanna Kumschick, along with the lighting design team, Luzinterruptius, partnered together to design and create Plastic Garbage Guarding the Museum. The art piece was part of the Oh Plastiksack! exhibit at the Gewerbemusem in Switzerland. The exhibit is a 4 month artistic exploration of waste in society with the focus on plastic bags as the art medium

Oh Plastiksack! points out how in regards to consumer behavior, plastic bags are a symbol of advertise, identity, and status and explores the how society views garbage. It forces the viewer to take something that is a social stigma of filth and contamination and to see it as art that is alluring and meaningful.
 
Oh Plastiksack! also explores the relationship of society and the environment with the presence of waste in everyday life as well as the cultural use of using and disgarding. To encourage recycling, Gewerbemuseum gave free admission into the museum to those who donated recycled plastic bags to the museum. The museum collected 5,000 bags that were used for the exhibit.

Plastic Garbage Guarding the Museum was designed with change in mind and to look best at the beginning of the exhibit with the anticipation of it looking "dicrepit" at the end of the exhibit. The significance of the installation is in "how it will evolve with time and how the public will react" to the changes. For this reason, the designers chose to place the installation outdoors at the entrance of the museum.

The Oh Plastiksack! exhibit is a powerful testimony of how everyday items that typically become garbage, can be transformed into something beautiful.

ReuseConex-1st National Reuse Conference/Expo

If you are interested in incorporating reuse into your green building techniques, then ReuseConex is for you. Organized by the Reuse Alliance, this first-of-its kind conference allows you to learn from experts around the country.

The adaptive reuse sessions in their “Best Practice” track are designed for design and construction professionals, from remodeling contractors to interior designers, who pride themselves on implementing green strategies. While our “Reuse 101” sessions are designed for students and DIY enthusiasts looking to learn more about how reuse fits into their green building projects.

Some of the sessions focused on reuse and green building, include:
·      Pros & Cons of Building Materials Reuse and Deconstruction Strategies (Hybrid, Custom, Full)
·      Reuse in Commercial & Residential Developments
·      Historic Preservation through Reuse
·      Adaptive Reuse Case Studies (North Carolina’s Textile Mills)
·      Reuse & The Built Environment
·      Design for Reuse Primer
·      How to Create a C&D Waste Reuse & Recycling Ordinance in your Community
·      Interior Designing with Used & Repurposed Materials
·      DIY Green Roofs using Reclaimed Materials

The presence of US Green Building Council (USGBC), Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA) and Reuse Alliance members on our plenaries and panels will help foster a dynamic learning experience for you.

PlanetReuse has the pleasure of joining the great list of speakers and exhibitors.  Nathan Benjamin will be presenting on a panel on Tuesday and at the round-table on Wednesday.  Stop by and visit PlanetReuse on the Expo floor. 

If you’re interested in promoting your green building services to a regional and national audience, in addition to learning and networking, please inquire about the ReuseConex exhibitor packages.

To register click here. 
For more information, go to: http://reuseconex.org