Pick Up Artist

Filed under Block Party Event, Ongoing Event, Performance, projects

Event Information

Artist: Gertrude Berg

This project is a performative street intervention designed to generate awareness about the condition of a public space. It reflects the problems of waste production and waste disposal behavior in my neighborhood Bushwick, Brooklyn NY.

I will collect trash from the sidewalks with the help of a modified high heel shoe. The waste will be punctured onto the heel and carried along until the amount of collected debris makes it very difficult to walk. For personal safety and to gain attraction for my endeavor, I will design a uniform that will protect me and also make a statement of how fashion can be utilized to fit a purpose.
Consequently, the project will also show how fashion can move away from being a mere individual exploration to become a tool that raises awareness about a neglected neighborhood.
Based in my Brooklyn neighborhood, I will sketch out a work area for my project. I will walk this Foot map? and meticulously clean every sidewalk including major intersections such as Broadway and Flushing.
I will “work” for one month, to touch as many neighbors and visitors as possible.
At the end of my workday, I plan to outline the area that I was able to cover on a map for project data and my own records.
My collaborator will follow the project with a video camera and record my action; the visual effects of the clean up and also set up interviews with neighbors and passersby. The long duration will familiarize my neighbors with the project and help to generate questioning, and debate.
These interviews will be edited into the project and thus create a work on it’s own that will extend the usual documentation of performance art.