All Things Trashpo

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Comment by De Villo Sloan on November 27, 2011 at 2:50pm

Diane, that's great information. And this is serious - I'm trying to figure out how to do a Trash Book or Trash Novel that talks about poverty, over-consumption, and economic inequality & has historical context as well as documenting Trashpo. I've pretty much settled on calling it "The Rise of the Working Trash." Your posting is very helpful for research. 

Comment by DKeys on November 27, 2011 at 2:44pm

A Rag-picker, or Chiffonnier, was a 19th- and early 20th-century term for someone who made a living by rummaging through refuse in the streets to collect material for salvage. Scraps of cloth and paper could be turned into cardboard, broken glass could be melted down and reused, and even dead cats and dogs could be skinned to make clothes. The rag-pickers did not recycle the materials themselves; they would simply collect whatever they could find and turn it over to a "master rag-picker" (usually a former rag-picker) who would, in turn, sell it—generally by weight—to wealthy investors with the means to convert the materials into something more profitable.^[1][2]

Although it was solely a job for the lowest of the working classes, rag-picking was considered an honest occupation, more on the level of street sweeper than of a beggar. In Paris, for instance, rag-pickers were regulated by law: Their operations were restricted to certain times of night, and they were required to return any unusually valuable items to the owner or to the authorities.^[1] WhenEugène Poubelle introduced the garbage can in 1884, he was criticized in the French newspapers for meddling with the rag-pickers' livelihoods.^[3] Modern sanitation and recycling programs ultimately caused the profession to decline, though it did not disappear entirely; rag and bone men are not uncommon in England today.

"Cites des chiffoniers" is the quarters in which the rag-pickers of Paris live and work. It's not high status, but an honorable profession none the less. 

 

Comment by DKeys on November 24, 2011 at 2:48pm

I've just been thinking about how as you get older, it seems you create less new memories. I don't know why that is. But you're right Lisa. It' s like every place or thing I've photographed is changed in some way because it is made personal

Comment by DKeys on November 24, 2011 at 2:46pm

Thank you Lisa--now I will never look at brown banana peels the same way again-beckoning monkey paws is a wonderful image. I think sealing the peel in gel medium will preserve it forever and stop the decomposition process, but only time will tell. Too bad your driver wouldn't pull over. I find baby tantrums work.

Comment by Nancy Bell Scott on November 24, 2011 at 2:38pm

"That intersection / traffic light will always seem different to me, now." Haha. I know you can handle that, Lisa, but I think you should have jumped out of the moving car to retrieve the monkey's paw, and get your driver used to it.

Comment by Nancy Bell Scott on November 24, 2011 at 2:21am

Good idea. Though the impostor is a friendlier person and I'd rather have him full time, our usual mailman probably needs mail-art help way more.

Comment by prettylily on November 23, 2011 at 11:32pm

Hmmm, may have to make more than one - just in case the imposter gets it.  And yes, I will scan it/them.  Ha,ha.  It will be fun.

Comment by Nancy Bell Scott on November 23, 2011 at 10:20pm

Terrific. Oh, we usually have a replacement on Tuesdays--if you can time it NOT to arrive that day, haha, good luck, and I hope you can scan it because he won't show it to me!

Comment by prettylily on November 23, 2011 at 8:06pm

Yep!  Sounds good!

Comment by Nancy Bell Scott on November 23, 2011 at 7:31pm

Mail art for Dario will come from Maine too. It would be Great if my postman gets remembered, Sue. I don't know his name, he doesn't interact (except to leave me angry notes in the past), so am not sure how to handle it. Maybe address it in big letters "to nancy's mailman" and then in smaller letters "c/o ___ etc."?

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