Art at the Dump

Artwork by Sarah Barsness and Ed Clapp will be on exhibit at a free reception on Friday, April 21st from 5 to 9 p.m. and again on Saturday, April 22nd from 1 to 5 p.m. at the art studio at SF Recycling & Disposal’s at 503 Tunnel Avenue in San Francisco.
This exhibit is the climax of a unique residency where both Ed and Sarah scavenged through piles of San Francisco’s trash. Ed and Sarah had the opportunity to collect all of their art materials from the public disposal area, and the salvaged items they found were recycled into their artwork.
Ed worked mostly with wood and created sculptures “that will hopefully inspire people to look and to feel deeply.” Ed explains, “ I work with the detritus of our consumerist, throwaway culture. I hope to find creative uses for trash that will make people more aware of material that we use in daily life.”
Each artist gathered very different materials reflecting the differing themes in their work. Ed’s show titled, “Redemption,” signifies the ability to “redeem” discarded materials and make them new again. He was interested in returning the materials back to a natural, organic form to remind us from where our raw materials come.
Sarah collected fabric, umbrellas, nylons and buttons to create colorful web-like pieces. “The challenge of making art with found objects is that the objects must tell you what they want to become; they cannot be forced to cooperate with some preconceived notion. It requires patience, faith and a deep sensitivity to the significance and potential of each object.”
Sarah’s exhibit titled “Fugitive” shows the ephemeral, tenuous, constantly shifting and fleeing nature of both objects and the self and their close relationship to the seductive and overwhelming power of memory. According to Barsness. “Objects seem to move so quickly from being essential and treasured to being useless and burdensome. Retrieving discarded objects shifts them once again to a level of value and meaning.”
The program was initiated in 1990 by the joint efforts of artist Jo Hanson, the City of San Francisco and the recycling company to spur people to conserve natural resources and to instill in children and adults increased appreciation for the environment as well as art. More than 55 artists have completed residencies.
Bay Area artists apply for the very competitive dump residencies. Those selected by a nine-member advisory board are handed the keys to a 2,200-square-foot art studio and given round-the-clock access to San Francisco’s garbage and recycling facilities.
Art from the program is displayed in local schools and in public spaces. Many participating artists also make a permanent piece for the 3-acre sculpture garden on the hillside above the San Francisco Transfer Station, where 2,100 tons of landfill-bound trash is dumped, crushed by bulldozers and top-loaded into 18-wheelers five days a week.


Each day, trucks drop their hauls from San Francisco at the garbage and recycling complex at Tunnel Avenue and Beatty Road. To residents and businesses the truckloads amount to rubbish; to artists the daily deliveries are a tremendous source of art materials.
“I hope my work sparks the imaginations and allows viewers to think differently about trash and about what we are doing on and to the planet.” –Clapp