recycled beauty

3029046-slide-recycledbeautytropicana
When she meets her friends, New York-based designer Diane Gatterdam reminds them to bring her some trash. Gatterdam, along with San Francisco-based photographer Laurie Frankel, has become a discerning garbage collector: The two artists are collaborating on a series of modern still life photographs made from discarded items they find on the street.

“We wanted to be inspired by something that was not inspiring,” Frankel says. “We decided to take something of no value, something that’s just so ordinary, and add something beautiful to it.”

3029046-inline-recycledbeautybutterfly
They also wanted to help people reconsider what happens to everything they throw out every day, like the 60 million water bottles that end up in landfills. “That bottle sits in your hands for maybe 10 minutes, and then it’s out of your life forever and you forget about it,” Gatterdam says. “We wanted to take these ordinary things that we discard and not only make them beautiful but make them live on in these photographs.”
The images in the Recycled Beauty series, shot in daylight, ended up looking a little like Dutch still life paintings from the 17th century, with crumpled water bottles instead of silver goblets and rotting vegetables instead of the typical cornucopia.

“We’re drawn to that era and we’ve always loved that style of painting and art,” Frankel says. “But the similarity definitely happened organically.”

3029046-inline-recycledbeautyparliment
The compositions aren’t planned in advance, but made from whatever random objects the pair happen to find. They’ve worked in both New York and San Francisco, and are considering the possibility of traveling from city to city documenting the local litter.
As they’ve worked on the project, they’ve started seeing trash everywhere, and they’re hoping that seeing the images will help others start thinking a little more about consumption. “It changes walking down the street,” Gatterdam says. “I’m always looking to see what people are throwing away.”
3029046-slide-recycledbeauty-jicama 3029046-slide-recycledbeautyyipinhotsauce
3029046-slide-recycledbeautysolarbatteries 3029046-slide-recycledbeautypeach 3029046-slide-recycledbeautyonionbox 3029046-slide-recycledbeautyoldsoul 3029046-slide-recycledbeautymcds 3029046-slide-recycledbeautyflyinthemilk 3029046-slide-recycledbeautyblackradish

[via Fast Co. | Exist, photos by Diane Gatterdam]

Share this post

Book a Consultation
Tell us about yourself
Send Us A Message
Tom Foerstel : Founder & President

Tom Foerstel

Founder & President

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 60’s, Tom developed a strong desire to create positive change for people and planet.

He went on to pursue his passion for art and design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and worked for design firms in Southern California before moving to Boise, Idaho in the early 80’s. Foerstel Design opened its doors in 1985. Since its inception, the firm has cultivated a bold, happy, forward-looking team focussed on creating distinct and effective work on behalf of their clients.

An integral part of Tom’s philosophy is giving back to the community in which he lives — a company cornerstone that drives Foerstel’s long history of providing pro-bono services to local non-profit humanitarian and arts programs.

One of Tom’s proudest personal achievements is his ability to say Supercalifragilisticexpyalidocious backwards.