503 Tunnel Ave
San Francisco, California

Friday, October 21
5pm-9pm

Saturday, October 22
1pm-5pm

free

Norcal Waste System's Artist-in-Residence Program (the only one of its kind in the nation) will host an art show for Sirron Norris and Nomi Talisman on Friday, October 21 and Saturday, October 22, 2005.

The current artists in resident at the San Francisco dump spent the last three months making art from San Francisco's refuge in order to
promote resource conservation.

Known for his signature style "Cartoon Literalism" and his numerous murals in the Mission District, Sirron Norris is a fixture among the
San Francisco art scene and has spent the last six years promoting cartoons as an art form and establishing himself as a premier fine artist and commercial illustrator. At the dump, he applied his whimsical-style cartoons to recycled toys.

New media artist, Nomi Talisman collected videos, still images, scanned text, voice-overs and some original footage to recreate her own collage-style films. "By exploring cultural artifacts (such as texts, still photos and movies) that I find, I comment about time, technology, popular culture and everyday life."

The program was initiated in 1990 by San Francisco waste haulers to inspire people to conserve natural resources and to instill in children and adults increased appreciation for the environment as well as art. More than 50 Bay Area artists have completed residencies.

Bay Area artists apply for three-month residencies. Those selected by a nine-member advisory board are handed the keys to a 2,200-square-foot art studio at the dump and given access to San Francisco's waste stream.

Art from the program is displayed in local schools and in public spaces. Many participating artists also make a permanent piece for the 3-acre sculpture garden on the hillside above the San Francisco Transfer Station, where 2,100 tons of landfill-bound trash is dumped, crushed by bulldozers and top-loaded into 18-wheelers five days a week.

Each day, trucks drop their hauls from San Francisco at the
garbage and recycling complex at Tunnel Avenue and Beatty Road. To residents and businesses the truckloads amount to rubbish; to artists the daily deliveries are a tremendous source of art materials.

The city of San Francisco reports that 60 percent of waste is diverted from landfill (the Artist in Residence Program takes credit for five percent of this total); still the "garbage" produced by San
Franciscans includes ton after ton of reusable materials. The City has set a goal of recycling 75 percent of waste citywide by 2010. The Artist in Residence Program hopes to help bridge the 15 percent gap.

For more information contact

Paul Fresina, Director
415 330 1414
[email protected]

Deborah Munk, Program Coordinator
415 330 1415
[email protected]

www.norcalwaste.com

Added by claudinerlco on October 17, 2005