emiko-o reware

Well, not literally, but man, I haven’t seen such excitement in the bloggisphere for men’s underwear until now. Population Control 2.0 is on fire! All it takes is one good blog (and something tech related like circuit boards) and the rest follow suit (or manties, I should say). Ecouterre.com broke the story Jan 27th (featuring many of the Metal Art Critique Collective members work from our Jewelry_cycle show!).

Population Control 2.0 was originally created as part of a collaborative project by the Metal Arts Critique Collective to bring public awareness to the issue of e-waste and the benefits of recycling. Each member of the group was given access to small, pre-cut circuit board rejects to make a piece of “green” jewelry. The works were showcased in the exhibition Jewelry_cycle at the San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design in fall 2008. An accompanying catalog documented the artists’ process in making.

GreenMuze.com

While the circuit board pieces used for Jewelry_cycle were mostly from cellular technology, I tend to associate circuit boards with computers and guys and all that is geekery, this being the impetus for my Population Control 2.0 boxer briefs. Having a boyfriend who uses laptops for endless hours daily led me to revisit medical studies on continual laptop use linked to male infertility. Could it be a male form of birth control? My process in making the briefs became a public crafting event in which I brought all my tools, parts, and male dress form “Julian” to a 3-day chill music festival/campout and constructed the piece right out on the lawns. Working on “Julian” became the perfect icebreaker to engage the public in a dialogue about recycling, circuit boards, and art.

It gives one pause to think how technology will affect our generation’s health 10-20 years from now. Not only is the production and conspicuous consumption of computers toxic to our environment, it may possible hinder our ability to repopulate future generations.

Greendump.net

Shortly after Ecouterre posted the circuit boxers, then followed Apartment Therapy Unplggd, GreenMuze, Green Dump, Tree Hugger, Techtv101, Earth Blips, tweetmeme, Eco Friendly Mag, the Find Buzz, etc etc. Who knows where it will end (perhaps in traditional print?), but in the meantime I’m coming across some great eco blogs. Click on the links and see what I mean.

Treehugger.com

EcoFriendlyMag.com

EarthBlips.dailyradar.com

Mark your calendars for this Sunday, Nov 9 from 1-3pm when I and fellow Critique Collective members are hosting a Meet the Artists Open House at the San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design. Artist walkthrough/tour begins at 1:30. I’ll be giving a tour of My First Royal Jewels Jewellery Collection LEGO necklaces, and the Collective will be talking about the Jewelry_cycle exhibition.

Jewelry_cycle:Artists Discover Hidden Sparkle in the Discarded is an educational showcase of wearable treasures made from re-purposed and re-cycled materials. With the idea of an exhibition in mind, co-curators Christine Dhein and Christoph Koch asked the Critique Collective to create wearable art from a variety of small, discarded circuit boards. Circuit boards are commonly made from fiberglass, epoxy resin, and a variety of metals, which is likely to be one third of the material. These metals include copper, silver and gold, which add a precious element to what would otherwise be considered e-waste. These artists discovered the hidden potential, and transformed these materials to create brilliant, sparkling jewels.

Participating artists are: Shana Astrachan, David Casella, Christine Dhein, Reed Easely, Aimee Golant, Christoph Koch, Kelly Nedderman, and myself. Shout out to Christine for working extra hard to have the exhibit be super clean and pro looking! Check out Julian on the job!

Come join us and learn some facts about environmental waste and how you can do your part to lesson your carbon footprint while being creative!  Plus sit down and make your own jewelry from recycled toy parts at the MakeArt:Jewelry + Objects self-serve table that I developed.

Shout out to SCRAP and UGlu for being awesome sponsors of my MakeArt table and workshop!