Second Chances

Bits of scrap metal, pins, woven Tyvek, chopped paper maps, an unraveled sweater, recycled plastic, wool felt — this is the discarded and forgotten stuff of our times. However, any archeologist can tell you that this trash holds the key to how we live. It’s a smelly reflection of who we are as a culture. So with the first green Democratic National Convention quickly approaching and the focus on all things sustainable flooding the market like hairspray in the ’80s, isn’t it appropriate that this ascent of recycling comes through in our art — a more refined window into our collective psyche?

Today starting at 6 p.m. at Translations Gallery, 855 Inca Street, Assemblage and Recyclates opens with the dream of giving trash a second chance. “It brings back the whole assemblage idea that Picasso and Duchamp came up with,” says Kate Merkel, manager of Translations. “It’s not necessarily a new idea; it’s just kind of revamped. I wanted to take the ideas of recycling in our culture and pull in these ideas from the past. I wanted to show people that art can be made from non-traditional material and still be fine art.”

Admission is free. For more information, call 303-629-0713 or go to www.translationsgallery.com.
Aug. 1-Sept. 13, 2008