Global garbage: Refuse as public art
Don't waste. Instead create.
Kildeer artist Mitch Levin once again is taking a blank canvas -- in this case a fiberglass globe -- and creating a piece of art to stress the importance of taking care of the world in which we live.
His globe, which addresses reducing waste, recycling materials and reusing products, will be on display beginning today inside the Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
The globe is among works created by Chicago and suburban artists as part of the "Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet" public art project.
The brainchild of Highland Park environmental activist Wendy Abrams, the project aims to use art to increase public awareness about global warming and promote solutions.
Exhibits also are planned Aug. 5 through October in San Diego and next spring in London.
Levin said today people are covering the globe with garbage. They are filling landfills with waste, raw materials and useable objects.
"Why not strive for zero waste, only buy or manufacture products that can be recycled completely or reused?" he said.
To cover the water surface of the globe, Levin took inspiration from a leftover piece of material his wife did not use in her work.
Creating and selling pop can mirrors, she cuts off and saves the bottom of the cans. Levin decided to cover the water surface using the bottoms of more than 1,000 aluminum cans.
Looking to use different colors, textures and materials to contrast the water and land, he reused over 100 plastic containers to cover the continents in a farmland-like pattern. Levin said he gathered the bottles from suburban recycling centers and neighbors who were helpful in providing the bottles.
He created the words, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" by welding together metal objects he found.
His first "Cool Globe", which he made with friend Baris Taser, took six weeks to finish. This one, which he made by himself, took two to three weeks to complete.
Levin said he not only wants the 5-foot sphere to address the idea to reduce, reuse and recycling. It's still a piece of art.
"You want to solve the problem somehow. But it still has to intrigue people when they come up to it," he said.
Levin's piece and other globes will be displayed through October in Washington, D.C., when they will then be auctioned off. The proceeds will go to the Earth Day Network to create green initiatives in a Washington, D.C., school.
Creating a whimsical piece of art that will be displayed in a public venue is a great opportunity to send a message that will impact future generations.
"I hope it continues. It's not a fad," he said.