After almost a year of planning and anticipating the installation of "Block Party" in the SFMOMA Artist Gallery windows on Natoma Street the job is done. All of the plastic you see here was collected by two people from 1,000 yards of beach, Kehoe Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore. One piece at a time. Our collecting is limited to this one spot.
Since 1999, we have collected over two tons of plastic trash and have used it make prints, installations, and sculptures, finding this plastic pollution as a compelling art material. It was all washed onto the beach from out in the Pacific, the San Francisco Bay, and from the Russian River Watershed.
In 2005 the United Nations Environmental Programme reported that there are 46,000 pieces of visible plastic floating in every square mile of the ocean. This fact seemed like a good starting point to count and exhibit this representative sample.
Special thanks to Intersection for the Arts for coordinating the workshops with Larkin Street Youth Services. Even the rote task of stringing plastic was transformed by their individual creative approaches. It was exciting to see how seriously, and with great attention to detail, each person fashioned their strand.
Fredisha H.
Raymond J.
David W.
John S.
Zaire B.
Daniel L.
Mayco R.
Jose A.
Adrienne S.
Michael W.
Gustavo M.
Christian H.
Warren R.
Don Clay V.
Staffpersons:
Lauren Forbus Peer Vocational Counselor
Tyrone Smith Day Labor Supervisor
Megan Doherty-Baker Day Labor Manager
Peter Carpou Art Program Manager
Rebeka Rodriguez
Program Director, Education and Community Engagement
Ryan Biega Intern