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February 15, 1997 to July 27, 1997
Hello Again: A New Wave of Recycled Art and Design
Presented by the Art Department

Go to the Virtual Exhibition

Hello Again: A New Wave of Recycled Art and Design, an exhibition of innovative and often surprising products created from recycled and reused materials, is traveling under the auspices of the Oakland Museum of California now. The show's itinerary was:

Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery -- Sept. 24 to Nov. 16, 1997
McAllen International Museum, McAllen, Texas -- Jan. 15 to May 15, 1998
Vancouver Museum, Vancouver, B.C. -- June 15 to Dec. 15, 1998.

Hello Again presents hundreds of items made by noted international and national artists, designers and manufacturers, many from California. Featured are contemporary furniture and table-top ware, toys, fashion and jewelry, art and architecture, musical instruments, sports equipment, paper, packaging, office supplies, desk accessories and rugs.

The exhibition and its educational programs informs the public about recycling and encourage development of new products as manufacturers realize that the public is eager for products that are attractive, affordable and environmentally responsible.

Among the diverse materials used to make the exhibited objects are clothes-dryer lint, Wonder Bread wrappers, hosiery, New York Times blue plastic newspaper bags, melted-own guns, lumber made from milk jugs and detergent bottles, plastic soda bottles, out-of-date maps, rubber tires, junk mail, aluminum cans, old computer circuit boards, recycled corks, used kitchen appliances, bottle caps, plastic garbage bags and telephone wiring. The exhibition stresses, with pizzazz, the importance of recycling.

The exhibition also includes a section of international folk crafts utilizing recycled materials -- Mexican tin craft, African wire baskets, early American furniture and household goods, and a few objects that remind us that even salvage materials from war can be made into usable objects, such as a bracelet made of metal from a B-52 shot down in North Vietnam, and a purse by Laotian hill people out of telephone line purportedly used in covert operations.

The exhibition and its educational programs will inform the public about recycling and encourage development of new products as manufacturers realize that the public is eager for products that are attractive, affordable and environmentally responsible.

The guest curator, Susan Subtle Dintenfass, a journalist and product designer, organized an earlier show on recycled objects two years ago at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Since then, there have been many new and exciting directions in recycled and reused consumer products, and new materials, both for building and for home use, are being tried by big manufacturers, including many in San Francisco, Oakland and the East Bay such as Samsonite and Papermate. The curator's new show focuses especially on the work of California artists, designers and manufacturers, including many in San Francisco, Oakland and other communities in the Bay Area.

The stylish and playful installation design is by San Francisco Bay Area architect Jeremy Kotas and Los Angeles designer Chris Jonic. The walls, floors and all temporary installation elements use recycled raw materials. The paper products used in publicizing the show are made from recycled maps and recycled paper.

Among exhibition tableaus are a closet of haute couture and mass market clothes; a home office of recycled materials; a room of innovative chairs made from different materials; a library with recycled materials, pamphlets, videos and books; and an art gallery.

Object highlights are:

haute couture, including a Moschino evening dress of plastic trash bags; bottle cap dresses by Remi Rubel; a sequined beer-can tunic by Issac Mizrahi; and a safety-pin dress and newspapers-'round-the-world dress by Paris-based Swedish designer Charlotte Nilson
gleaming, elegant chaises and floor tiles by Clare Graham, made from recycled soda cans
a Huffy bicycle with a frame made of 120 aluminum cans
a recycled-paper child's chair by Michael McDonough
bowls made of traffic signs by Boris Bally
clothing made of Eco Spun Fortrel® fabric, fashioned from recycled plastic
an African soft-drink tin truck
a Federal Reserve shredded-money hat and stole by Estelle Akamine

Major funding for Hello Again: A New Wave of Recycled Art and Design comes from the Department of Conservation, Division of Recycling, State of California and the Alameda Waste Management Authority. Generous funding comes from Earthsake, a chain of stores of recycled objects, and Schnitzer Steel. The exclusive media sponsor during the Oakland Museum venue was the San Francisco Chronicle.

 

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