These are all common objects photographed at the Falls of the Ohio on a single cold day in January 2011.
Archive for the ‘unusual collection’ Category
Frozen in Ice
Posted in Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, fresh water, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, artistatexit0, Falls of the Ohio, ice, photography, water on January 17, 2011| 6 Comments »
Recent Found Orbs
Posted in Absurd, Art, collections, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, artistatexit0, balls, baseballs, Falls of the Ohio, orbs, photography, spheres on December 10, 2010| 7 Comments »
On my last walk at the Falls of the Ohio I came across so many found round objects that I thought a few photos of them might be fun or interesting so what the heck. I’ll start with the first orb I came across which was an osage orange fruit also called a hedge-apple around here. It looks somewhat brain-like because of its texture. There are also a few genuine and fake baseballs in various states of decomposition thrown in for good measure. I also found another plastic orange…that one will go into the Fake Fruits and Veggies Collection which keeps growing with each trip to the river. The day began cool and frosty, but warmed up with some sunshine after noon. Alright now and without further delay, here are the photographs.
Styro-Ambush
Posted in Absurd, Art, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, unusual collection, tagged Art, art in public spaces, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, vandalism on October 14, 2010| 9 Comments »
Oh woe is me! It was starting out to be such a beautiful day. There was a spicyness to the air that was intoxicating and the willows were alive with birds. I saw several different warblers and managed a good photo or two! As I approached what has been my outdoor studio spot for months, I could tell something was different this time. A feeling of foreboding began to fill me and my heart sank as I looked around my site.
They were all down and destroyed! Figures that had been my friends since early summer were lying around my studio smashed and savaged to bits! The figure I made with Ariana that wore the lacrosse helmet we found together was staring up at me like some ancient Egyptian mummy. The eye sockets were hollow and I could not find either the helmet or the eyes. Even the small bird piece that had alighted on this figure’s shoulder was just random bits of broken polystyrene.
Both the Styro-Odysseus figure and the dancing figure that greeted him back from the war were goners now. It seemed that a particular kind of viciousness was reserved for the heads as they appeared to take the brunt of the attacks. The violence was not restricted to the “art” and I saw that even the old milk crates I stored found objects in were also now cracked and battered. There were two other works out here and how did they fare? What about that Figure with the Long Arm? Look for yourself.
It’s not an encouraging sight. All these sculptures had been up here for weeks and many people have had the opportunity to see them and interact with them in positive ways. Among the other options included taking them home, moving them to another location at the Falls, adding to them in some other creative way, leaving them be until the river eventually found them, etc… Unhappily, the option exercised was just to smash them with sticks. One other figure was also out here and unfortunately, she lasted only long enough for one good post until she too was discovered by the vandals.
This is all that remains of Minnie now…fragments of broken Styrofoam. Minnie was an interesting character and people seemed to relate to her. More than likely all this carnage is the handiwork of adolescent boys. I have seen this before…many times over the years. What is it in the human spirit that finds some strange satisfaction at tearing down what has been built by others? I don’t understand the pleasure derived from this kind of destruction? I will admit to feeling down after I encountered all this trauma and I haven’t been back to this site since then. I did gather up what I could and I intend to make new works if I can lift my spirits up enough to do it. For now, all that remains are photographs of these sculptures when they existed intact and in the contexts that helped to define them. Here are a few previously unpublished images.
I know I shouldn’t be too upset since all this stuff is just river-born trash anyway. I think I keep saying this to myself in part because it’s true and to insulate my feelings for when these black days occur. These materials had already been abandoned. I can’t take it all home with me and I should just enjoy the ephemeral nature of it all. Still…
Recent Found Objects
Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, Louisville, Kentucky, recycled art, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, lost objects, photo series, photography, plastic toys on September 8, 2010| 7 Comments »
It’s not everyday that you come across a conceptual hot dog and so I couldn’t resist recording this image. What follows next are some recent river treasures I’ve discovered on my wanderings throughout the Falls of the Ohio State Park. We haven’t had any flooding recently which is the easiest and quickest way to find stuff. I still subscribe to the theory that the objects you are meant to find call you on a subliminal level. I will happen by some spot and for some unvoluntary reason will look down and there “it” is! Here are a few more lucky finds courtesy of the cosmos.
The majority of what I’m going to present in this post are toys. Take for instance this bright yellow toy truck that rode in with the river’s waves and nearly buried itself in the sand. The yellow color practically screams!
For those of you who occasionally follow this blog might recognize that I have photographed many of the petrol containers that I have come across. Those images can be found in my special collections area under the About section. To me, gasoline is one of those substances that define the times we live in. By far, this is the smallest such container I’ve come across and has a treasured place on my windowsill with other favorite finds.
For awhile there was this pirate craze inspired by the Johnny Depp movies and I can recall my sons and nephews being enamored by the Jolly Roger. I came across this plastic skull mixed among the driftwood and after taking its picture…picked it up and dropped it into my collecting bag.
There’s a nice patina forming on this Tasmanian Devil character head. The use of popular cartoon characters to sell stuff is a tried and true marketing strategy. I will guess that this is the screw on cap to a bottle of children’s shampoo? I’m surprised that I found this mingled with the neutrally colored driftwood since it doesn’t possess a color that screams at you.
Honestly, I’m not sure what this is? Yes it’s a toy, but from what cartoon series? For now, I’m just calling it a yellow plastic “star” toy. It’s quite small and the grains of sand speak to that. Anyone have a guess?
I have a collection going of these small plastic figures meant for the smallest among us. After so many years, it still disarms me somewhat to find toys meant for toddlers and babies mixed with the driftwood. It makes me feel as though there are unsupervised kids playing by the river which in our hyper fearful times seems inexplicable. Here’s something else…
I find many toys meant for infants such as teething rings. This one features a leaping happy cow with colorful plastic keys. Now all this stuff is what can be found on the surface of the driftwood. In places the deposited wood can be several feet thick and you just know that scattered in between those layers are more potential discoveries.
I also have a penchant for photographing lost footwear. I believe this is one of the two smallest shoes I’ve come across thus far. I nearly saved this one for “The Shoes You Lose” collection, but couldn’t wait to post it!
This could be either some exotic blue fruit or seed pod…or potentially a prickly chew toy for your dog? I’m leaning towards the dog toy idea.
As doll heads go…this one isn’t as frightening to me. It’s very cheaply made and the painted blue eyes aren’t very convincing. Over the years, I have found many, many dolls and doll parts. Practically every time I visit the river I find a doll arm or leg. The frequency never ceases to amaze me. To end this post, here’s the latest image. I found this plastic hubcap for an expensive and real truck and liked the play of light over its surface. Seems like it should be made of metal? Well, dear readers…where ever you go…happy finds to you! I’ll bet you have found a few interesting items in your corner of the world?
More Fallen Footwear
Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, unusual collection, tagged Art, collection, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, photography, shoes on August 20, 2010| 5 Comments »
I have made a recent addition to my Pages section that continues a theme. The Shoes You Lose 2 builds upon a previous photo collection. All the images of lost footwear were found in situ at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. Shoes are objects I frequently come across as the Ohio River carries them far away from the feet they were intended to protect. I have seen many more shoes than I have photographed and I can’t always tell you why I select the ones I do? When I download my pictures from that day’s river adventure, often there will be an image of a shoe or two in the mix. They belong in the context of that day’s experience, but it is also fun to revisit and group them together later.
There is that saying about spending time in some one else’s shoes that is meant to be an expression of empathy that I feel has an element of truth to it. Shoes are partly intended to shield us from the rough aspects of the environment that could hurt our feet…and so it is interesting to me to see how the environment will treat these objects when they are no longer in our care. Shoes are just expressive objects and prone to pathetic fallacy which is probably another reason I enjoy snapping their likenesses. To view this latest collection, just find and click on The Shoes You Lose 2 under my Pages header and it will take you there.
Contents Under Pressure
Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, unusual collection, watershed, tagged aerosol cans, Art, Collections, Kentucky, Louisville, photography on August 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »
It’s been so hot and busy here that I haven’t had the chance to visit the river. That will have to wait until this weekend. In the meantime, I’ve added another exhibit to my unusual collections pages. It’s perhaps a bit of a head scratcher since it consists of pictures of aerosol cans. Looking through the archives, I noticed that I had enough can pictures that I could present them as a body of work. It’s just interesting to see what kind of package we can design around a product we can’t live without. There’s also that hint of danger…”contents under pressure” that speaks of living life close to the edge. And then there’s the old familiar stand by that this stuff regardless of its original purpose should not find its way into the watershed in the first place. All these cans were photographed on location at the Falls of the Ohio State Park over the course of a few seasons. To see this collection, check out “Contents Under Pressure” in my Pages section to the right of this column. Thanks!
Sand Lions and Driftwood Flowers
Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, collections, Falls of the Ohio, nature photography, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, Louisville, photo series on July 24, 2010| 5 Comments »
The last several weeks at the Falls have yielded many favorite images that don’t always make it into my posts. Until now. Here’s a collection of found objects photographed in situ at the moment of discovery. Most of the items are lost toys that have travelled with the Ohio River to be washed up here and mixed with wood chips and fragments of our material culture. An example of this is the so-called “Sand Lion” I discovered on the riverbank. It’s rubbery and sticky and the sand clings to it easily. It’s meant to be inflated by blowing through the mouth piece located at the tail. Reminds me of a horned toad the way it lays in the sand. I also came across this variant of a sand lion with its punkish hair style.
This sand lion is hardly fearsome with its child friendly smile. I later found another animal object on the driftwood. It’s a bear with a twist having been formed with polystyrene foam. This was premade and I didn’t have to do anything else with it except to take its picture for my collection.
And now for a series of images of circular and spherical objects. These are the things that catch my eye. Of course the artificially colored plastic stands out nicely against the natural tones found at the river.
One final image before eye fatigue overwhelms you! More flower images, but this time its decorations on the side of a plastic Barbie cup found on the riverbank’s mud and offered as “Cheers!” to you. I’m looking forward to this weekend to see what is different at the Falls since my last adventure. The forecast, however, is calling for temperatures around 100 degrees fahrenheit. I don’t expect much will be moving quickly on this day.
Plastic Bottle Color Spectrum
Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, Originality, recycled art, unusual collection, tagged Art, color spectrum, design, Falls of the Ohio, Kentucky, Louisville, plastic bottles on July 17, 2010| 2 Comments »
This post is actually to announce a new collection that I have added to my pages section. It’s more of an experiment…an idea that I have had for a while and only just now put it together. Plastic bottles are objects that I have been photographing at the Falls of the Ohio for a couple of years now. I see so many of these that I decided to order my image collection roughly by what color the bottles are. I remember seeing works by Tony Cragg that were made with fine gradations of colored plastic in fact our local Speed Museum used to exhibit one in their permanent collection. So, I guess I’m counting his work among the influences for this piece along with your standard box of crayons! Most of these bottles originally contained soap solutions (laundry detergent, shampoo, dish washing liquid) or various car care products (oil, anti-freeze, gas treatments, etc…). Of course, since they are all made of plastic, they are also derived from petroleum. I think the best way to view this collection is to stroll down fairly quickly. I think I will try to add to this collection as I go along throughout my Falls of the Ohio Project and see where it goes. Look under my Pages section and look for the Plastic Bottle Color Spectrum tag. Thanks!
Dolls from the Falls
Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, unusual collection, tagged Art, dolls, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, nature, Ohio River on June 23, 2010| 7 Comments »
Of the many objects that wash up upon the shores of the Falls of the Ohio, few have the visceral effect that these found dolls produce. For as long as I have been doing this project, I have been amazed by how many of these toys I have come across. The various toy balls are the only other playthings that surpass these lost dolls. The wayward balls I can understand getting into the river because most of them are round and inflated with air! It would be very easy for a lost ball to become washed or even blown into the river, but what is the story with these dolls? I came across an especially interesting doll recently and thought I would introduce the lost doll topic.
I came across this doll laying face down in the soft earth. Several pieces of driftwood partially obscured a full view. Recognizing what it was I reached down and lifted the doll up and was amazed that several plants clinging to the body had used this decaying doll as a substrate and were in fact growing on it! I have seen many abandoned dolls, but this one was unique because nature was so actively intertwined with it. I eventually placed the doll in a sitting position on a log near the place it was discovered, took my pictures and walked away.
The moment of discovery always produces a double-take for me. There is a slight hesitation before the brain registers the scale differences and I recognize what this really is…just a toy. I have come across little hands sticking up out of the sand that have sent fearful jolts of adrenalin rushing through me. People are always asking me if I have ever discovered a human body before? Fortunately, I haven’t, but these things come a close second.
No doubt about it…these objects are psychologically charged like creepy clowns are and stumbling across a lost doll is like viewing a mini crime scene. The idea that we would intend a representation of an infant as a plaything strikes me as an odd idea. So what are these dolls doing in the river so far from home and the people who care for them?
At first I thought it was plausible that many of the hundred or so dolls I’ve found in six years simply washed off or accidently fell off recreation boats. And then I thought that perhaps the world is just full of mean prankster boys who think it’s fun to throw sister’s doll into the river. There is that scene in the first Toy Story movie where the boy next door, Sid, engages in this kind of behavior. And then another idea occurred to me that also seemed possible.
What if it’s not little boys, but instead little girls that are tossing out the baby with the bath water? What if even on a subconscious level, these girls are rebelling against gender stereotypes they don’t fully understand? Aren’t many of the baby dolls intended to reinforce the notion of girls becoming mothers? I have had conversations with female friends who said that they never could relate to dolls and prefered other toys instead.
My wife reminded me that boys play with dolls too and that’s certainly true. I had a G.I. Joe action figure “we” (me and the other boys in the neighborhood) eventually blew up in the sandbox…ala Sid. The truth about the river dolls is that every possible way one can imagine these objects getting into the water can and does happen. I have this other mental image of the dolls that missed the Falls, continuing on their long watery journey until they reach the Gulf of Mexico and then its open ocean from there as the currents circumnavigate the globe with them.
Signs at the Falls
Posted in Art, art and environment, collections, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, unusual collection, tagged Art, Falls of the Ohio, Lewis and Clark, Louisville, Kentucky, signage, signs on June 17, 2010| 4 Comments »
The debris I find along the riverbank is an unfortunate sign of the times, but that pales to the ongoing debacle in the Gulf of Mexico now in its 58th day! The signs that our way of life are overly dependent on fossil fuels and petroleum in particular have been in place for some time now. The funny thing about signs is that after a while they become so familiar that they are also easy to ignore. I decided to visit a place I feel I’m familiar with and learn what I could from the other more literal signs that are around here and this is what I found. The further away from the park you are, the more likely you are to find signs that beckon or welcome you. The Ohio River Scenic Byway sign promises an adventure complete with the possibility of steam boats and church steeples if you only follow the road that runs parallel to the river. Next you come to a sign that alerts you to the historical significance of the town itself which is just outside the park.
As you travel from east to west in our country you run into all kinds of markers that are a reminder of how arbitrary the “west” actually is…eventually you do run into the Pacific Ocean which was Lewis and Clark’s eventual goal. There are several signs that lead you into the park starting with this rather modest example. Eventually things do build up leading you to the Interpretive Center with its limestone sign.
The historical significance of this place not only to our country, but to the world’s heritage is well-marked. I’ll start with the more recent sign that represents the effort to recognize the Lewis and Clark bicentennial. This expedition of discovery was one of the great moments of exploration and deserves remembrance. We had to remind the historians, however, that this area played a huge part in the overall trip and had to fight for the recognition which included lobbying on the highest levels.
At least the sign for the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail includes two representations of the explorers. I think it’s doubtful one of them wore a coonskin cap! Here’s the bronze plaque under the “official” statue (a story for another time!) explaining some of the significance of the voyage to the history of our country. And , one other plaque I found on the Interpretive Center honoring the fossil beds themselves.
Around the park are other descriptive markers that alert you to some of the attractions in the park. This sign describes the rich bird life that has been recorded here dating back to Audubon’s experiences.
The oddest signs in the park, however, describe two piles of dirt and rubble that I think we can thank the listed corporation for? They are used for educational purposes so kids in particular can have a fossil finding experience by sifting through this material.
Once you are in the park, however, one also encounters many signs that tell you what you can and cannot do. The park and Army Corps of Engineers have many rules and some of them alert you to potential dangers and hazards. Here are a few of those signs in the contexts in which they are found.
And if you break the rules…you better watch out because…
I can’t leave this post on this note, so just two more images. The first photo is the sign that gives credit where credit is due…and the last image is what it is giving thanks for! I know it is said that people no longer read, but if you pay attention to your surroundings, then you can learn all kinds of interesting things and ways to say them.
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 