Sunday, April 15, 2007

The Game - EBSQ Repurposed Exhibition

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This assemblage was made specifically for the EBSQ Repurposed Show. It is a juried exhibit in conjunction with some treehugger-types at Treehugger.com It is clearly RECYCLED ART!! cha·rade(sh-rd) n. 1. Games a. charades (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A game in which words or phrases are represented in pantomime, sometimes syllable by syllable, until they are guessed by the other players. b. An episode in this game or a word or phrase so represented. 2. A readily perceived pretense; a travesty: This work seeks to explore several double entendres - combining the lifecycles and paradoxes of our society as they relate to the notions of heaven and hell, cradle to grave, birth to death, purgatory/afterlife....the cycle/recycle. Look at it as a clock. Begin with birth -the egg (age 0), and continuing on through a clockwise circle, through heaven (the sky) to hell and death (in red) onto the afterlife, or purgatory (the right hand side of the box) and finally back to where we started again. The title "The Game 0-99" was chosen for reasons below. The numbers.....age 0-99.....99 chosen because we know what might happen if we go past that number (think Y2K) Do we know what waste was accumulated as we prepared for the doom? "The Game 0-99) began with the box top from the game called "Charades - The Game: Fun through the Art of Communication." I acquired it through another Freecyle neighbor in our community. And thus began my effort to communicate through art. I retained a portion of its title "The Game" and as I painted the rest of the box black, I began to think about how often we try to 'cover up' our true thoughts, who we are, who we try to be. Having the blessing of knowing people from several different countries, I know as a Canadian we are particularly well known for being politically correct or now coined "PC." Our lives can take on several different 'masks' based on what appearance serves us best in different social situations. My favorite example is a neighbor who admitted to 'carrying a plastic bag' while walking his dog to appear as though he 'picked up' but NEVER did. How many of us really walk the talk? And I include Al Gore in "us" whose mansion used almost 20 times as much electricity as the average American home. But I won't throw a stone at his glass house! Not even a pebble. He has raised awareness. I worked for a global corporation for 10 years and knew full well that their 'commitment to being environmentally friendly "was perhaps the biggest charade I'd ever witnessed. While their perceived image reads (a direct cut/paste from their web site) : "In 2006, the first COMPANY solar panel array was installed in East Hanover, New Jersey (USA). This is a very attractive approach towards using renewable energy and lowering the carbon intensity of our energy supply. COMPANY strongly believes that careful stewardship of natural resources, in particular tight control of greenhouse gas (GAG) emissions and energy efficiency, is not only important for the company, but critical for global society and future generations. In 2005, COMPANY made a voluntary commitment to reduce its global GAG emissions for the period 2008-2012 to a similar level as that prescribed in the Kyoto Protocol, I.a. 5% below the corresponding 1990 level. As well as energy efficiency, COMPANY is focusing increasingly on further reducing carbon intensity by fostering combined heat and power systems and renewable energy sources, such as fuel from waste, bio-fuels, or solar, wind and geo-thermal energy. Novartis has almost completed the switch of fossil fuels from oil or coal to natural gas" . This same COMPANY employs 70,000 people globally, a significant percentage of which they supply with COMPANY non-hybrid cars . Why? So, they can drive to their customers to convey a FACE TO FACE marketing message. Currently toted as the best selling method, emailing and phone calls are discouraged and I can attest first hand being told to drive 300 km to deliver an invitation in person. As a drug representative, my weekly mileage averaged 800 miles. You do the math - I did the expense sheet for gas. I traveled armed with and trunk load of glossy, colored marketing pamphlets, clinical reprints, other assorted branding gimmicks along with drug samples (usually 7 pills) packaged in excessive cardboard glossy and branded packaging 100 times larger than needed. Why? To crowd out the competitor brands on the sample shelf. And what happens to these excess samples when the drugs expire? Disposal instructions are not based on what's good for the global ecosystem, but rather on what's required in each regulatory environment. The Evra patch is just one example of how our legislative framework has failed to examine the entire life cycle of a drug and is known to feminize male fish. There are no regulations that prevent the dumping of non-hazardous waste and the bulk of pharmaceuticals, including hormone products, are not classified as hazardous. Scientists are only beginning to uncover the bioaccumulative effect these chemicals have on our global ecosystem. What's needed is a national, regulatory initiative that considers the cradle-to-grave impact of pharmaceuticals. Cradle-to-grave is symbolized by the cradle as the "recycled polystyrene "Easter" egg, complete with a recycled "cross" representing Christianity. There is not enough room here to comment on the religious holy wars and the impact they have on our environment nor the paradox contained within the polyurethane TOXIC EASTER EGG- think Valdez and the ducks murdered. hmmmm.....can the earth be resurrected? Egg? think of our planet earth and how fragile it is. With two tiny portions of this piece dedicated to optimism...."IF we "face the music" we may be able to turn the path of destruction around....but more than likely we are heading to hell...(I couldn't find a recyclable hand basket.....)they are all currently in use) Hell...purgatory.....depicted in red.....finds us back at where we started - in the cradle again represented by the egg in a 3rd recycled box top, with a keyhole looking for a way to be reopened....sustainably The second optimistic thought - Namaste - underneath the face are the words from Desiderada (a recycled poem from the 60's.) The Game - whose keeping score? Are there any winners? The final cycle....and message REDUCE - REUSE - RECYCLE

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