City Newspaper Archives - 12/2007

ART: Creating art from urban waste

Published by Eric Rezsnyak on Dec 04, 2007
The Business Association of the South Wedge Area (BASWA) is trying to turn urban waste into artistic opportunities with the Totem Project, which will turn defunct parking meters along South Avenue into public sculptures.

Karrie Laughton, owner of South Avenue's Lux, is involved in the Totem Project. She says the idea came from a program in Syracuse, where artists created sculptures to "sleeve" over 10 poles left over from decommissioned parking meters. There are eight such poles on South Avenue between Gregory and Averill streets that BASWA is looking to cover with functional works of art.

Proposals are being accepted from local artists through the extended deadline of February 15. Selected artists will receive a $500 stipend for their works upon installation in May.

Laughton says that artists should be creative, but to remember to pitch works that will be weather-resistant and that do not include sharp objects. She also encourages artists to travel down South Avenue to see what kinds of businesses are in front of the poles in an effort to make the pieces site-specific.

More information on the Totem Project can be found at baswa.org or lux666.com.

Article Photos

Carol Adamec's aluminum-disk totem in Syracuse. Photo by Michael Davis/Syracuse New Times.