Prinzessinnengarten

In 2009 a group of people from the district of Kreuzburg in Berlin, Germany came together to create a green space called Prinzenssinnengarten. The idea was originally to create mobile gardens that could be used across many rural lands. The founder of the project then realized a garden in the city would be much more beneficial. The garden took the place of a square in the town that had essentially became an urban wasteland. The community took it over, removed all of the trash, and created a communal garden. People who live there can go and plant things like vegetables or even just flowers. Since being created the community has added multiple beehives that help to pollinate all of the flowers and overall help to improve the biodiversity of the city.

This is such an important project because it positively effected the community in multiple ways. It creates a nice green space that people can go to spend time in. On top of that it is also a nice way for the community to come together while also benefiting from the food that is being planted there. There are really no negatives to creating urban agriculture like this because they only help to improve the quality of life in big and small cities.

More urban agriculture being introduced to big cities in the United States could be very beneficial to the status of climate change and the overall happiness of the community. Planting native plants will not only help to make cities more appealing but will also help to local ecosystem. Plants that are native will thrive better and make these garden much more beneficial. On top of that planting things like fruits and vegetables will help to benefit the communities as they will provide fresh produce that anyone who needs it can use.

To get something like this started in the United State communities need to come together to advocate. Working with local government can go a long way in helping with projects like this. With many people working together work can easily be done. Also, when people see projects like this thriving and benefiting the community they are more likely to also work to make these projects work in their own cities. Overall gardens like this in cities will help to improve biodiversity, a sense of community, and the environment overall in the United States.

“Trash People”

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.

Sources:

Contributors to Wikimedia projects. “HA Schult – Wikipedia.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 21 Apr. 2010, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HA_Schult#cite_note-4.
Welle, Deutsche. “Trash Art Litters Cologne – DW – 04/20/2006.” Dw.Com, Deutsche Welle, 20 Apr. 2006, https://www.dw.com/en/trash-art-litters-cologne/a-1974237.
Sim, David. “A Load of Rubbish: Eco-Artist HA Schult’s Trash People Sculptures.” International Business Times UK, International Business Times, 2 Apr. 2014, https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/load-rubbish-eco-artist-ha-schults-trash-people-sculptures-1443100.