by Erich Kuersten 6/8/99

For a change... let's walk Uptown- east side

First stop, the delighful work of Nameless Resident of Bluestone Building on 89th and Second. At first this installation seems just the traditional arrangement of a standard refuse stylist, but after living with it for awhile, I became aware of a deeper current at work. Maybe it's the strategic placement of the empty red plastic detergent bottle, which sort of "floats" through the piece, bouyed by the more traditional plastic bags, which somehow recalls the nautical displays of Niles Hausener. The blue can that acts as a pedastal, is for example, clearly blue, which would indicate the can is to be used for recycling. Yet Reisident heedlessly piles all sorts of nameles artificats atop (note the genius addition of an empty 12 oz milk carton in the foreground, deposited, we may assume, by an inspired passerby.) This radical thumbing of the nose at the sanitation dept. of New York is not only a homage to the rebellious free form 'splat' poetry of Giles Conover but a distinctly New York pean to the pagan rites of summer. See it before the building's super straightens it into the proper bins while cursing under his breath, probably around Friday evening.

At the nearby Wall of Same Building a torn sticker stands in solemn defence against the installation of Nameless Resident. This old fashioned call-to-arms is from a limited series of prints by the New York City Sanitation Dept. There seems to an image, now faded and torn of a trash can being tied together by a piece of measuring tape. That we can read or discern little else, other than the words "recycling program," is no doubt meant to be poignant, a cloying attempt to garner sympathy ala the crying Indian in the 70's commercial or the sad eyed puppies on black velvet paint-by-numbers of Wallace Warfield. Frankly, I don't think the average art-savvy New Yorker will be very much swayed by this obvious attempt at forlorn-ism. Nonetheles, the work contains some poetry. I like the way the ghost of the sticker's torn image still lingers in a pale outline against the bluestone wall, perhaps suggesting an "aura" photograph of a lost lizard's tail. The ripped up bottom of the sticker suggests heavy can movement, the hurly burly of the relentlessly industrail environment against which no mere post-it can succeed for long.

Next to some red piece of sculpture on 83rd & 2nd I chanced to spy what may be the most important artwork I've spotted in some time. This piece, tentatively titled Trash Can is both practical as an actual garbage can, and a succinct summation of mankind's history. Its mottled brown exterior both blends with and beautifully offsets its asphalt surroundings. The squat cylindrical manner of the piece suggests stability and steadfastness, as if the city around it, constantly in motion, would surely drift out to sea if not for this squat, almost figurative form holding fast to the earth's core. The dingy brown color and sandy texture further enhance the concept of the can as a link between earth (dirt) and man (city/asphalt). Most notable is the top of the work, which gently tapers off to a round point at which (though not seen in this photo) one can deposit their refuse should they wish to participate in the installation. Recalling both standard eye-witness UFO descriptions and the Mayan pyramids, this ingenious "pinnacle" of the sculpture seems to hint that from this union of city and jungle, dirt and sky-scraper, we will find our link to the cosmos.