Beth Zonderman Art

by Beth Zonderman, originally published in Second Sight, Issue 2

Scavenging is an activity like anything else, which when done with inspiration can be raised to an art; and when done with discipline, consciousness and devotion, becomes a spiritual endeavour. It is more than the simple 'one's trash is another's treasure', but a process of applied karma, keeping things in motion and accepting and appreciating the bounty of the universe. The most talented ("lucky") of dumpster divers, second-hand shoppers and pilferers recognise their acquisitions as gifts rather than quarry. The devoted finder-of-things, like any artist, must have in their portfolio some of the following traits: perseverance and training, intuition (good stuff radar), openness of mind to see that which is invisible to others, ability to see beauty and wisdom in unexpected places and/or God-given talent - i.e.: be in excellent graces with the angels who leave stuff for people to find. The scavenger should also have a moral code.

Among trash devotees, those who make art out of their gifts bear an added responsibility of not taking brilliant junk and making bad art. The fact that found objects and ready-made art looks so easy and seductive forces the assemblage artist to be especially disciplined. The public may be easily fooled - although not as easily as one might think - but the angels of found stuff and their devotees will not. There are numerous traps around which the putter-together-of-found-things would do well to tread lightly.

The Snows of Killimanjaro Trap: as the game hunter should be able to lower his gun and say to himself "that fur looks more beautiful on that cat than it ever will on some fashion model," so must the object maker know when to still her hand.
The Old Man and the Sea Trap: some are better left in the wild.
The Siddhartha Gutama Trap: when he received the word after forty days fasting under a tree, he could neither edit the message nor sell the book rights. Sometimes the object cannot be improved.
The "It's a great component but impossible to integrate" Trap: some will never give up their own sovereignty enough (i.e.: almost anything from an antique shop or taxedermied animal parts)
The Unwanted Associations Traps: scraps of language may be gorgeous gibberish to you but might actually say "Fuck your mother" or "Long live the Fuhrer." Is that what is meant? (Applies to the use of bust of Stalin, Korans, Nazi paraphernalia, religious objects and anything in a language you don't understand.
The Male Dog Trap: if it's made already, finding and peeing on it won't make it yours. But then again, sometimes it does work. (Duchamp)
Seed Pod Trap: one must have the discipline to tell the difference between a sublime scrap and a pretty botanical sample.
The Desecration of Corpses and Sacred Objects Trap: if not using the power deliberately, the artist risks making bad art at the least and facing karmic consequences at worst. (D. Hirst, A. Serrano, use of crucifixes, torah scrolls)
The Sculpture as an Excuse to Use a Fabulous Piece of Junk Trap: it's always obvious, often stupid, contrived or kitchy. (Picasso, Marisol)
Coopting and Culture Raping Trap: Do you know the person in the photo or are you just exploiting someone else's suffering or success for your own strategy? (Using photos of starving children and famous people)

All this said, it is only fitting to address the Czech Republic's own trashpicker extrordinaire, Mr. Franta Skala. Like any putter-together-of-found-stuff, he walks dangerously close to some of these traps and on occasion falls gets caught. In his current exhibition at Nova Sin he shows his uncanny ability not only to "find" the best junk, but to simulate nature. His skill is nearly Faustian, in that it walks the fine line between holy and unholy meddling. However, it would be pedantic and boring to run through the trashpicker's moral code citing violations or discussing how he sometimes not only dodges the traps but makes a mockery of them.

From the moral code of trashpickers point of view, the most blasphemous of Skala's projects make the most powerful art, in that Skala is then impersonating the work of nature and imitating the passage of time. If a work of art is equivalent to an artificially made object with a life of its own, Skala makes Golems not out of inert matter but out of living material (not literally, but possessing a strong identity and personal history). Any artist using found materials seeks to do this, but Skala at his best transforms identities of his ingredients in the manner of an alchemist or sorcerer. Philistines on all sides will argue for preserving the dignity of dead animals, remind that the dead are best respected by being resurrected as art, guess that the dead have no use for their bodies, or scoff that these concerns are totally irrelevant and only the art and artist are important.

This scavenger's hubris separates Skala's stronger and weaker work. When he is collecting and arranging unique objects, the results are often too decorative, contrived and knick-knacky. When imitating the work of the gods his true talent is exposed. The junk-leaving angels apparently condone his blasphemy as well, as long as they continue leaving him the best of the stuff.