There is No Away

I stumbled across an interesting public art project, located just down the block from my apartment. It's called The Landscape of No Away: A Community Eco-Art Project, with the subtitle "You cannot throw anything away. There is no away," created by Keesje Fischer and Patricia Eakins. The arresting display consists of fake plastic flowers hanging on a fence near the 190th Street A Train station, fake plastic flowers constructed from recycled beverage bottles and other such plastics which, as the artists state, are the least biodegradable materials. Take a look:

I especially like this part of the artists' statement, even if it uses too many dashes:

When a flower, a leaf, or a vine, has been created from objects ordinarily thrown in the trash--a plastic juice or soda bottle, a grocery bag, the plastic shells that encase many objects we buy in a store--the mystery of transformation that is central to art is glossed with playful irony--trash that mimics nature--yet it contains within it the seeds of hope: the least biodegradable materials, like plastic bottles, that persist in the eco-system and smother it, have the potential for change into art that honors the natural world.

Abandoned Car Watch: Day 4

As I write these words (1502h on Wednesday, March 12), the Ford Expedition: Eddie Bauer Edition is still blocking the crosswalk. I have braved the elements and have managed to piece together a photographic essay of this bizarre situation. Enjoy.












The Daily Snowman has been covering this story throughout its development. The Daily Snowman: America's Premiere Snowman Monthly

Abandoned Car

There's this jungle green Ford Expedition--Eddie Bauer Edition--parked at the corner of W. 181st and Fort Washington in such a way so that the rear 40% of the car extended into the crosswalk. The car looks to be in decent shape. I'm no mechanic, but the only exterior problems I noticed were a lack of inflation in the aft tires and a sagging in the abaft bumper that seems to be more pronounced than is normal.

I first noticed the Expedition at around 1830h on Monday, March 9. As of 1500h on Wednesday, March 11, the vehicle remained in its position, still blocking the crosswalk. The only difference I noted is that the bright orange parking tickets have multiplied overnight: there are now four slips of paper protruding from under the wipers.

So many questions. Did the person who parked the car there know that the spot is illegal? Did the driver not care? How come no one has come to retrieve the car?

I'm not sure why this fascinates me so much, but it does. If I ever write a novel, there'll be a mysterious abandoned car somehow involved in the plot.