‘ELEVATE 2014’
More than 100 artists will seek to engage the public with living sculptures, interactive gadgetry, portable art and dance performances, artist panels and more during this annual art happening, Oct. 17-23 at various downtown sites.
In addition to the Goat Farm Arts Center’s “Dumpster” installation, highlights include:
- Atlanta artist Branden Collins will employ ancient forms of masking and costuming from various cultures as reference points in his exhibit opening at Gallery 72, 72 Marietta St., at 7 p.m. Oct. 17. Digital sculptures and installations by French artist Joanie Lemercier also will be on view, with music by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Quartet and the WolfPack. Block party follows at 8 p.m. in the area of 79 Poplar St.
- Elevate Art Tours will be offered in new 2015 Fords, from 2 to 6 p.m. Oct. 18. Register for the private shuttle tour: http://idatapoints.com/elevate-atlanta-test.
- Eight short comedic French films by Max Linder will be shown in Woodruff Park, 7 p.m. Oct. 19.
- Lemercier will present a sculptural light performance, "Tesselated Atlanta," at 55 Marietta St. at 7 p.m. Oct. 21.
- Dance Truck will present dance and performance art on its stage-on-wheels, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at Fairlie and Walton streets.
Free. www.elevateatlantaart.com. The Lemercier and Linder programs are part of the France Atlanta 2014 celebration. Details: www.france-atlanta.org.
Construction dumpsters usually overflow with odd pieces of lumber, Sheetrock and cardboard, something that passers-by automatically try to edit out of their view.
But 10 of the lumbering metal containers are starting to command attention in downtown Atlanta. Instead of flotsam and jetsam of the building trade, however, they hold serious art expressions and pure whimsy, quiet reflection and interactive sound and light, eye-catching aesthetics and recycled funky stuff.
Tapping more than 20 metro artists, the Goat Farm Arts Center organized the diverse "Dumpsters" public art project as part of "Elevate 2014." The annual weeklong public art happening, staged by the city of Atlanta's Office of Cultural Affairs, kicks off Oct. 17.
This year’s “Elevate” theme is “Social City,” the idea being to encourage exploration and consideration of the urban landscape.
Standing out on the northern edge of Woodruff Park and along the pedestrian-scaled streets of the historic Fairlie-Poplar District, the 10 dumpsters are within easy strolling distance of one another.
But why dumpsters to showcase art?
Because it’s a surprisingly good fit, said Mark DiNatale, who handles matters including operations, programming and innovation at the Goat Farm, the Westside arts destination that is seeking to bring culture to Atlantans with this outreach instead of vice versa.
While working on a prior project, he said a Goat Farm team was brainstorming ways to “activate space that was temporary, that was interesting, novel, that would get people to think about city infrastructure in a different way, get people to notice things that they wouldn’t otherwise notice. We were trying to make space, as well.”
A dumpster, they concluded, “fits all of those criteria.”
When their thoughts turned to “Elevate,” the Goat Farm organizers decided the use of dumpsters — in all their big, ugly, bulky glory — also could convey a sense of lightheartedness.
“That’s a big part of it,” DiNatale said. “It wasn’t overly serious. It was comedic, in a way.”
A request for proposals unleashed a slew of clever art ideas for the construction dumpsters whose rental was picked up by supplier Unity Southern Environmental. The art started going in only after thorough pressure washing.
Winning projects include “Well Wishes,” a dumpster boasting a bucolic setting that places a wishing well into which Atlantans can express hopes for the city; “Dumpster Obscura,” a variation on a camera obscura in which things happening outside the dumpster are projected in inverted form onto the interior walls; and “Social Synth,” which boasts two synthesizers and a drum machine with large controls that invite interactivity.
Those are experienced by entering the metal monoliths, but David Baerwalde and Alex Martinez's "Crystal Dumpster" is meant to be appreciated from outside it. Their container holds a cluster of "crystals" lit from underneath in changing colors and ranging in height from 3 to 11 feet.
Pointed like rockets toward the sky, these crystals aren’t real; they’re wood frames wrapped in clear and treated plastic film. But they were partly inspired by the super-sized gypsum ones discovered in 2000 in a deep cave in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico.
“Seeing that imagery probably clinched it,” Baerwalde said of the cave where the largest crystal found so far is reportedly 39 feet long and 13 feet in diameter.
Many believe crystals, even smaller ones used in jewelry or that drivers hang from rear-view mirrors, exude natural power. But Baerwalde and Martinez felt more attuned to the idea of crystals as a connective force in contemporary society, found as they are in most communication devices.
The artists thought that was a nice fit for Elevate’s Social City theme. To play up the link, they designed their “Crystal Dumpster” to “react” with changing intense hues when anyone viewing it calls a posted phone number.
Lights will be going day and night, but Baerwalde acknowledged that the artificiality of their created crystals will be more exposed during daytime. He doesn’t think that’s a problem.
“I live downtown and I see the dichotomy of structure and facade, these inner workings and outer workings of the buildings and all their shapes,” the artist said. “I notice that theme coming back around again and again in my work. And here it is in this one as well.
“At different times, you can see it’s just wood and plastic, but then in another moment, it’s something kind of magical.”
Magic in a dumpster.
