Tossed and Found event turns reuse art into activism

by Taylor Stevenson

San Francisco street artist, Meek, recently participated in Paper Politics, an exhibit of political prints from across the United States. Her stencil print depicts a homeless man hunched behind his cardboard sign, which reads: “Keep your coins. I want change.” I often find myself repeating her words- quietly, to myself, when I feel my courage wilting.
I work at a clinic for the homeless (Outside In) and am greatly inspired by our clients and their ability to overcome daily hardship. I find that, as result, my courage rarely falters. But in February the federal Deficit Reduction Act, which restricts Medicaid funding, took effect and community clinics and Medicaid recipients across the country were suddenly scrambling to make ends meet. When social service agencies feel the strain, the pressure also falls on their clients. For example, recent cuts in Oregon Health Plan have left thousands of people with sparse benefits, or none at all. It’s times like these that I feel my courage wilting. And though money would certainly help the plight of social service agencies in the US, what we really need is change.
I am not a politician nor an economist, but I still felt the need to effectively to respond to these recent cuts. My coworker, Kara Edge, felt the same. We wanted to show the community how amazing social service agencies are for their ability to adapt and be resourceful in difficult times. This urge was the seed of Tossed and Found, an exhibit of reuse (made from discarded material) art and craft that will travel to various social service agencies around Portland. Social services are suffering in the United States and, as result, are having to become increasingly more resourceful to stay afloat. And reuse art demonstrates what communities and social services do: make something from nothing.
In organizing Tossed and Found, the question of audience came to mind and I was reminded that, when social service agencies suffer, their clients suffer. We wanted to do something for Outside In clients that would help them be resourceful during times when agencies couldn’t provide them with all that they need. We decided that Tossed and Found be an exhibit not for the Portland art world, but for our clients. Anyone is welcome to submit works for the exhibit, but our hope is that, in doing so, artists and craftsters will consider the social implications of their participation. Just as our garbage does not simply disappear, the problems of poverty and unmet needs are ever-present.
The therapeutic benefit of reuse art also deserves attention. In my free time I am devoted to reuse art and craft- making baskets from pop bottles, carvings into Styrofoam, clothing from ironed newspaper bags. Not only is it empowering to create something from materials that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill or on the streets, reuse art lacks the pressure of traditional art. If my final product is hideous, I have no qualms about throwing it away. The materials would have gone there anyway and no money was wasted. The process of seeking materials and making something from them is cathartic, and helps me self-actualize in all areas of my life. The night before recycling day, I take a long walk with a duffel bag and load up. Many times, I will make something from someone’s recyclables and return the piece to their front porch.
Giving the piece away is part of the process, and we are attempting to recreate some sense of that with Tossed and Found. The works will be returned to the artists upon completion of the show, but the ideas will be given away. I hope that artists will submit works that are creative and functional and that can potentially be copied and recreated. In countries like Brazil, there is a great deal of popular knowledge about reuse art techniques, especially in poor communities. People there are very open about teaching these techniques to others, despite that they might sell their work and could be creating competition. Reuse art is gaining momentum in the US, but it tends to come from the art community and is usually coined as a way to promote recycling and environmentalism.
Reuse art should remind us not just of our literal garbage, but of our symbolic garbage. Environmental reuse art speaks to the problems of our disposable, consumer culture. But I want reuse art to address not just our treatment of garbage and materials but our treatment of other people. Humans can be rejected, ignored and ‘tossed’ in the same way that garbage is. Furthermore, many people live on the streets with our garbage. Environmentalists and humanitarians alike would argue that we must look more carefully at what makes us so inclined to reject and ignore that which we feel no longer serves us. While reuse art is a great way to promote recycling, it has deeper implications that I hope Tossed and Found will speak to. In the process of finding tossed materials I hope that artists and others will consider ways in which we, as a community, can re-find and reintegrate those people who have also been tossed.
We are still accepting submissions for the Tossed and Found exhibit, and the deadline is February 12, 2007. The opening will be on March first at Outside In between 6:30 and 8:30pm. It will be displayed there for one month, then will move to other social service agencies around Portland, including The 100th Monkey art therapy studio (April) and Friendly House (May).
For more information, please contact Taylor Stevenson or Kara Edge:
503-535-3814
tossedandfoundart@yahoo.com
http://www.redsemillaroja.org/recursosmain.html