Use Values: Re/Imagining Urban Waste
Use Values was an iLANDing laboratory organized in collaboration with artist Katarina Jerinic and architect Juliette Spertus. The two-part workshop took place on a leftover piece of land at Exit 30 off the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, a site maintained by volunteers through the Adopt-A-Highway program which, according to the program’s mission, is devoted to “beautification or other aesthetic-related activities.” During the workshop, we used the location as a laboratory for exploring the role of waste, refuse, and acts of discarding in the formation of the urban landscape. We played along the spectrum of owning, consuming, and throwing away, and followed the paths of objects beyond the moment at which they are initially discarded. In addition to studying the combination of systems that act on the landscape, we took time to reorganize and reimagine the site through functional and aesthetic lenses. Finally, we hosted an open house to share food and discussion with other workshop participants and visitors.
Visit the project site here: https://usevalues.tumblr.com/
Workshop Procedure
May 2, 1-4pm: Collect & Analyze In this first session, we will examine the ways the site is shaped by the movements of animate and inanimate material in and around the island triangle. What are the discernible forces acting on the site? How does this site participate in broader urban ecosystems? We will document our findings in the form of movement scores and maps that will be shared with future visitors in a letterbox onsite.
May 10, 1-5:30pm: Sort & Display In the second session, we will clean the site—collecting, re-organizing, and displaying discarded material. In addition to working with our observations of the site as we encounter it, we will also develop other possible uses for the site and its materials. We will conclude the session with an open house for visitors to experience the re-organized space and share food and discussion.
Led by Zena Bibler, Katarina Jerinic, and Juliette Spertus
Saturday May 2 1-4pm & Sunday May 10 1-4pm
Island between exit 30 off the eastbound BQE and Classon + Flushing Avenues in Brooklyn
Participant-generated scores:
Score for perceiving wind’s effect
Follow the path of the tall grass each time it blows.
When you feel it blow, note which side of your face you feel it.
Note how it swirls and changes direction through observing the grass.
Note where the garbage lays.
Stop when it blows in all directions and try to note the dominant direction.
Walk that way.
Turn and face the wind.
Change direction. Notice how it feels.
What happens when there is a void?
Walk towards the void – the place where the wind dies down.
Score for noticing a symphony
Walk toward where the sounds are more musical. Look up and hear the music. Could be birds chirping or brakes squeaking.
Score for interacting with wasted time
Stand at a section of the fence where cars stop. Face oncoming traffic. Direct your attention to the oncoming cars, while trying to identify what songs (if any) are playing on the driver’s stereo system. Note instances of eye contact or words exchanged. Invite these exchanges as one-on-one social experiences or duets. Keep listening for what is playing on the radio.
Score for noticing economic transactions
Make a map of things that cost money or are worth money. Who is paying for what? You might want to consider wages, goods, services, fares, taxes, et cetera as they are evidenced in people, objects, and movements in and around the triangle.
Score for minimizing impact
Travel in pre-trampled paths in order to minimize the effect of traversing. Note the degree to which you experience discomfort (or are willing to experience discomfort) while doing so.
Score for experiencing yourself experiencing the terrain
Set a pre-determined time (2, 10, 30, 60 minutes, etc). Use the whole time to cross from one point on the perimeter of the triangle to the other. Track your perceptions in chronological order as you cross the terrain.
Score for observing waste and nature and interactions of humanity and wind on the beautification of Katarina Jerinic’s space
#’s denote steps taken in a specific path.
1 look down
3 look right + behind
10 look left + right for plastic and cardboard
23 look left under tree – there is a tree directly in front of you
30 observe growth of leaves + seed pods/flowers
Step to the left x2
BOX TOP
13 more steps it used to be a sand bag
26 more look back and right, sewage?
11 more look left, sewage? (check)
9 more it could collect all of this trash
6 more effects of time, wind, waste, neglect
Score for rhythms and patterns
Choose a spot in the triangle and close your eyes. Listen carefully. Note the sounds you hear and the frequency at which they occur. Open your eyes (for safety) and choose a new space based on the combination and proportion of rhythms you would like to hear. Consider the effect of these rhythms on the triangle and its contents.