HA Schult is an 83 year old pop artist from Parchim, Mecklenburg. Most of his work is influenced by commercialism and consumerism. He started his work in environmental advocacy before it was popular to do so. He even earned himslef the nickname “eco-art pioneer”. One of his first projects was a fashion show where he displayed clothing he constructed out of trash in the 1960s. He has beem creating sustainable art work ever since and is continuing to gain popularity. Over the years he has made many works of art that are meant to demonstrate how people waste money on huge displays of wealth and how they harm the earth.
One of Schult’s most famous works of art is an installation called “Trash People”. It is a traveling work and has been displayed on all 7 continents over the span of 18 years. Schult first started collecting trash for his installation in 1996. In order to create all 1,000 trash sculptures he recruited 30 assistants to help him. With a lot of hard work the team finally finished all of the sculptures after six months. Each sculpture is made up of things like bottles, computer parts, and crushed cans that Schult collected himself. He had them displayed in large areas that get a lot of tourists so that they would reach a large audience. He does this to try to make people reflect on their behaviors and think about what they can do to help lower pollution.
“Trash People” is meant to display that humans lives are revolved around consumerism and the idea that everyone on earth produces crazy amounts of trash during our lifetimes. Schult is demonstrating that while we are alive we produce trash and when we die we become trash. That the rich make trash and the poor collect it. He is demonstrating that humans cannot live without an overconsumption of unnecessary things. Making the sculptures look like humans really causes the viewer to reflect on themselves and makes it much more impactful.
Overall his work has been very impactful and will continue to be for years. The lesson he teaches that overconsumption is a serious problem is something that will need to be taught for many years to come.
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