It's Earth Month, and all over the world, businesses that normally ignore environmentally issues are making an effort to show their "green" intentions. Some efforts are pathetic, while some are truly worth a second look.
From April 15th through May 11th, visitors to the ten-story glass-vaulted atrium at New York's World Financial Center will be treated to an up close and personal viewing of one of the largest recycled plastic sculptures in the world. Chandelier, a 21-foot tall and 15-foot wide sculpture by Katharine Harvey, is made from thousands of water bottles, sandwich trays, muffin tins, salad boxes, egg cartons, and other "disposable" plastics.
The installation is designed to both amaze and remind the viewer of the consequences of our throw-away society--namely, that there is no 'away' in which to throw any of these plastics. Only a tiny fraction of these petroleum-based products are recycled after use, while most end up in landfills or the ocean.
Chandelier made its original debut as a site-specific installation at Toronto's Brookfield Place in 2009, and incorporated used plastic collected from the office tenants of that building. The exhibition in New York is part of an ambitious Spring lineup from Arts Brookfield, which has established the World Financial Center as one of the Big Apple's leading showcases for important visual arts installations and exhibitions.
The installation can be viewed for free by the public between 7 am and 10 pm.