For this assignment I studied the subway station of Smith-9th Street that is located on the F line. The subway station has a very beautiful artwork that is divided into two categories. One concept covers the windows of the station, and the other is a large mosaic wall. I chose to replicate the artwork that where integrated into the windows. Below you can see how the real artwork look like in the subway station. 

The real artwork

 

 

 

The Replica

For my replica, I only used trash as materials. I collected enough material to recreate the artwork as similar as it could be.

The base of the whole project was made out of a folder that I found laying around. I thought that it had interesting significance to the real artwork since the maps that the artist, Alyson Shotz, used dated from the 1700-1900. 

 

I chose to use straws for the windows. I put them next to each other and taped them together which created a blurry feel to it, which actually resembles with the real windows that have a laminated surface. 

 

To recreate the map tracings I took the straw paper, which I twisted and shaped after the map. I then took a Red Bull can and cut out small strips of the blue color that I twisted around the straw paper. The Red Bull strips represent the reflective effect that the map tracings have in the real artwork.

 

To recreate the number that represented water depths, I chose to cut out the numbers form the nutrition facts of the Red Bull can. I bent them and made a small cut into the straws, where I could fit the small scarps of aluminum.

 

The silver frame around the artwork is made out of the inside of a Pepsi can. And the cream white wall is made out of used food containers. Behind the straws I put in a picture I took of the view from the subway station. 

 

This is the finished replica made out of thrash.

 

 

The Photo grid

This is a photo grid of the neighborhood. It contains of 10 different categories that I was looking for when I took them. 

• Historic buildings and architecture
• Non-chain commercial stores and restaurants
• Planned nature
• Unplanned nature
• Urban patterns
• Graffiti, tags and vandalism
• Cultural symbols, signs and cast-offs that tell as story about the people
• People
• A single location
• Emptiness