Perception of Artists: Do they like Rubbish Dumps?

All the artists I know or have known are quite normal and most have to earn their living in the real world which keeps them anchored to reality. But what is interesting to examine is the type of workshops and residences created for artists. These illustrate much about out the outside world perceives what artists want for an arty getaway.

(Credit: johnwilsongallery.com)

(Credit: https://www.theartoflandscapepainting.com.au/)

Check out the website for John Wilson to enjoy and learn from some of his wonderful landscapes.

(Credit: visitvictoria.com)

Idyllic setting for anyone and is in fact a popular holiday retreat for everyone.  The painting workshop for 5 days was held in the National Park and Cultural Centre, Brambuk.  This is a very special place situated in Halls Gap within the natural oasis that is Grampians Gariwerd. The perfect place to evoke the spiritual and creative juices.

(Credit: visitmelbourne.com)

(Credit: WorldPress.com)

Check out the website for John Lawry

Artists have a wide range of offerings to choose from if they want to escape to somewhere to paint, sketch etc. Many exotic places such as Southern France, Italy, California and even Iceland are offered to help bring out the creative genius in you.  Lately however, there is a move to offer something different to the restless artists seeking new grounds for stimulation. Some of these more interesting venues have been described by Amanda Petrusich in Why Artists Need Oddball Residencies.

A teaser for you from this article. Amanda Petrusich writes:

There may be no more trenchant metaphor for the creative process than the artist-in-residence program at the San Francisco Transfer and Recycling Center, a forty-seven-acre garbage dump on the western banks of the 101. Since 1990, select artists have been offered studio space and “scavenging privileges”—a chance to stumble through mounds of discarded scraps and impedimenta, cart their finds back to their garrets, and reassemble those armfuls of trash into something deep and resonant. Using repurposed materials is certainly a noble and necessary endeavor. (The program was founded by the progressive artist and activist Jo Hanson, with the hope of normalizing recycling.) But the symbolism of sequestering artists to the garbage pile is perhaps too hilarious and heartbreaking to ignore.

Please read the complete article by Amanda Petrusich Why Artists Need Oddball Residencies. It is interesting and very entertaining.

I have always wondered where I got these ideas from. It was from the rubbish dump with my Dad.

The Hero Image today is Rubbish Dump Recycling by Irish artist Caoimhghin O Croidheain.

(Credit: uk.reuters.com)

You can read about the ingenious Kenyans here.

Tomorrow we move out of the rubbish dumps and into an Electricity Station in Düsseldorf, Germany.