Name: Eva Solo
Date: 02/10/19
Professor: Marcela Godoy
Reading Response:
In the chapter Plastic Materialities: Plastics, materials and dreams of dematerialization by Bernadette Bensaude Vincent, I was introduced to a new concept the ‘Plastic Age’ which deals with the relationship of nature and technology inter-colliding. I have been so focused on exploring what the ‘Digital Age’ entails for society, it has not crossed my mind that with this new technology we are also to a far extent influencing the natural state of this planet. I appreciated gaining some historic understanding and seeing some of the deeply rooted perceptions have carried over to the current day ( the ‘glass of wine’ as a luxury example). In the Enhancing the performance of plastics section, I took notice of how innovative we have become in prioritising the production of the plastics, yet take very little care in their discarding. It seems as if we want to create so much innovation we forget what comes after it, or rather choose to turn a blind eye. I was also considering how quality vs. quantity plays a role in the economic circulation and how money is a big motivator. Imagine if we suddenly shift our focus and somehow manage to convince everyone that environmental protection is valued at a financial gain? I am sure we would have a lot more people not only talking but actually doing something, anything – but whatever we are doing now, yet when the benefit of being environmentally conscious comes with better air quality, clean water, clean spaces, and overall better health for us – we don’t seem too keen on participating. I rase the question where are our priorities? We have amazing technologies to create materials that aid our everyday life, yet cannot even take a small percentage of time or resources to consider the after-math. I understand how difficult it is to break down a ‘working scheme’ that will most likely be costly in the begging, but it seems that we are more okay to believe that the Earth is already on its way to dying rather than change our behaviour in the slightest.
In Chapter 7: The Science of Recycling I immediately related to the the point of our society being confused when dealing with plastic. Metal and glass are pretty clear when distinguishing the difference, but plastic in a whole new story with its chameleon like qualities to mask itself. Reading the sad reality of only 5% of US trash actually being recycled should come as a wakeup call for us all. Undeniably the United States is a powerhouse when looking at our globe, so it is very disappointing to read these statistics when the resources are widely available, and could set a new standard for the rest of our nations. Sorting and separating of the plastic creates the most difficulty, thus preventing wide scale recycling from being implemented as the norm, and this stage of the recycling pipeline falls directly on the consumer. This is where we need to shed the ‘I am one person, I am not going to change anything’. This frustrates me a lot because if we all alter this belief we could actually make a change. Our society now, more than ever, is very ego-centric and overwhelmingly priorities the self over the community. Don’t get me wrong, I am very thrilled we have developed to to the extent of being able to have the leisure to focus on individual needs and desires – but why does that have to come at a cost of killing our home, the planet we all share collectively?
Reflection on Art Installation:
During the following week after the installation I was able to reflect on it from three sources: observation, interaction with acquaintances, and personal reflection.
I tried to come to the cafeteria at different times of the day to see if our installation would draw any attention, and when it was the most noticed. I assumed the busy lunch time would draw a bigger interest purely due to the larger influx of people, but I was faced with a different reality. I noticed the morning time, when the cafeteria was more empty, was an inviting environment for people to come closer, I actually spotted someone reading one of the descriptions – which made me happy we chose to include them in the final stage of our design. Lunch on the other hand was the most chaotic time period and our piece stood as a background element to everyone rushing to eat. While I observed our installation I was also taking notice how people discarded their food waste and separated the utensils. Pretty much every single cafeteria visitor sorted their trays out properly and diligently – I had suddenly sparked some hope. If we are able to separate utensils due to their clear form and distinction, we should be able to approach plastic in a similar way if the plastic available to us was clearly distinctive, bus as I learned from the readings this is not our reality just yet. I brought up our installation to some of my friends to which I got the response that ‘they have taken notice of the piece when visiting the cafeteria’ – I was very happy about this as I did not send them over there in the first place. I had brought it up to a few peers that had not seen it prior to our interaction, and was very excited to meet them later in the week by hearing ‘Yes, I checked it out!’. I was able to gain a lot from this experience as I began viewing trash as a valuable. All of the materials we used would have otherwise been discarded without a second though, yet our collective efforts sparked some very interesting conversations I was able to be a part of. I was even able to discuss our intentions with one of my professors as they too have taken a notice at the construction, but admitted to not stopping for a closer read at the text. The text was small and not colourful, so I understand where it did not serve as a eye-leading element, but I still think it served a purpose and brought the installation to completion aesthetically.
Further Communication with Trash Collector 余:
I had not seen 余 for a couple of mornings and was starting to get worried she had moved on from our building, till Saturday morning when I saw her with a big bag of styrofoam. She looked exceptionally happy today. I asked her why I have not seen her in the recent week as she explained that she has found a new location that has not been covered by other self-employed trash collectors. She said it is very rare, as people in this ‘field’ know their specifics and claim their locations per-say. She said she is currently in search of new locations to collect more materials during the day for a reason I could not quite catch. I am assuming the financial gain is influencing her work ethic, as she stated that everyday she collects and every night she resells. I got a sense of her work conditions being very demanding but it was so delightful to see her smiling. From my understanding she is not only supporting herself from this money but her family also, – from here I passed the bag of empty water jugs to her and wished her a happy weekend.
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