Teen Ink

An unconventional piece, American Trash, is a life-size installation. By working on this piece I was given the chance to do a full-body cast of a person for the first time. This was a great learning...(more »)

An unconventional piece, American Trash, is a life-size installation. By working on this piece I was given the chance to do a full-body cast of a person for the first time. This was a great learning process for me to go through and is a good skill because it can be put to use in all types of sculpture. This piece was meant to help those around me understand the plight of the poor and downtrodden in American Society. The two figures are set in trashcan filled to the brim with garbage. The figure of the upper body lacks any senses; feeling (no finger tips), sight (no eyes), hearing (no ears). The other figure is placed upside down in the can feet hanging in the air. Like the poor, these figures have been denied the right to live in a clean place and are treated like they have no senses to take action in their situation. They are splatter painted with Red, White and Blue to express the sloppy shape that these people are handled with by the government. The goal behind this piece was to give insight to people who ignore those cast out of society like they are trash. All people deserve respect and every person deserves the right for their voices to be heard and for their problems to be addressed. « read less