65,000 “retired” CDs upcycled into art: Set...

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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.

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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.

12:03 pm - Wed, Oct 10, 2012: 114 notes

High-Res

65,000 “retired” CDs upcycled into art:

Set along the landscape of Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Monro recently completed a solo show in which he covered the 23 acres of the Gardens with a handful of complicated light designs. Using CDs as the basis for this particular piece, Monro recycled more than 65,000 discs to form these contemporary Waterlilies in Bloom. The piece greets visitors with a metallic glow as it pays homage to Longwood’s iconic water lilies. The many retired audio discs float along the Large Lake during the day, reflecting brilliant flashes of sunlight in a rainbow of colors.

(via Recycled CDs Make Waterlilies — Juxtapoz.com)

More work by Bruce Munro featured previously on Unconsumption here, and more repurposing of CDs here.

(Yes, same artist. In the above text, quoted from Juxtapoz magazine’s site, Munro’s referred to as “Monro.”)

Side note: I guess CDs sitting in water for four months didn’t harm the water quality on Longwood’s grounds?!