The documentary “Humble Trash” highlights stories...

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Your daily source of inspiration for creative reuse and mindful consumption.

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[Background on, & press coverage of, Unconsumption can be found here and here.]

Consumption is a word used to describe acts of acquisition – generally, the acquisition of things, in exchange for money.

Unconsumption is a word used to describe everything that happens after an act of acquisition.

Unconsumption is an invisible badge.

Unconsumption means the accomplishment of properly recycling your old cellphone, rather than the guilt of letting it sit in a drawer.

Unconsumption means the thrill of finding a new use for something that you were about to throw away.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a service like Freecycle (or Craigslist, Goodwill, or Salvation Army) to find a new home for the functioning DVD player you just replaced, rather than throwing it in the garbage.

Unconsumption means enjoying the things you own to the fullest – not just at the moment of acquisition.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a pair of sneakers until they are truly worn out – as opposed to the nagging feeling of defeat when they simply go out of style.

Unconsumption means feeling good about the simple act of turning off the lights when you leave the room.

Unconsumption is not about the rejection of things, or the demonization of things. It’s not a bunch of rules.

Unconsumption is an idea, a set of behaviors, a way of thinking about consumption itself from a new perspective.

Unconsumption is free.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Founder & Editor: Rob Walker, journalist, Savannah, GA

Editorial & Community Manager: Molly Block, marketing and business development geek, Houston, TX

Brian W. Jones, designer & writer, Göteborg, Sweden

Kashvi Kumar, Environmental Studies and Economics major at New York University

Deirdre Nelson, ever threading artist, Glasgow, Scotland

Shanna Trenholm, writer. catalyst. force of nature. San Diego, CA

* * *

Alumnus & Unconsumption logo creator: Clifton Burt, graphic designer, Portland, OR

Further information about Unconsumption can be found here.

9:43 am - Wed, May 23, 2012: 50 notes

The documentary “Humble Trash” highlights stories of six Austin residents who find creative uses for found, castoff objects.

Not surprisingly, the film’s stars — found-art artists and yardists, a.k.a. yard artists — share a love of “discovery” and seem to derive much satisfaction from both their salvaging efforts and work in displaying their finds.

One yardist, Scott Stevens, whose backyard is filled with bottle cap “snakes” suspended from tree limbs, doll and mannequin heads, crutches, and ironing boards, says working with his hands in his yard is therapeutic. (Check out this amazing panoramic/GigaPan photo of Scott’s yard. Take a moment to zoom in. Crazy, isn’t it?)

The six collections include the Museum of the Ephemerata and the Cathedral of Junk (mentioned previously here and here), which attracts some 10,000+ visitors each year; several of the collections have been stops on the annual Austin Art Yard Tour. (Held most recently last month, in case you missed it.)

Click on the above-embedded video to watch “Humble Trash” — it’s only 17 minutes long — or watch it here via the City of Austin. I think you’ll agree that producer Debbie Eynon Finley did a great job in capturing both the quirkiness and passions of this group of Austinites.