{"id":61442,"date":"2021-05-26T14:53:07","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T14:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/projects\/worthless-studios-plywood-protection-project\/"},"modified":"2021-08-20T19:13:02","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T19:13:02","slug":"worthless-studios-plywood-protection-project","status":"publish","type":"metro_project","link":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/projects\/worthless-studios-plywood-protection-project\/","title":{"rendered":"These Artists Transformed Salvaged Plywood into Public Art"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"worthless
RockIt Black<\/em>, Tanda Francis, Queensbridge Park, Queens Courtesy worthless studios \/ Brett Beyer<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Last June, when New York City streets were both desolate and disorderly due to the pandemic<\/a> and the vigor of the ongoing uprising<\/a> against police violence, worthless studios<\/a> founder Neil Hamamoto found himself marveling at the city\u2019s bizarre vacancy and the streets which were unusually dressed in plywood boards covering ground floor retailers\u2019 windows. Similar to the rise in the cost of hand sanitizer and face masks, the market price for plywood skyrocketed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn artist myself, I am aware of the artists\u2019 struggles for access to materials. The pandemic made everything worse,\u201d Hamamoto tells Metropolis<\/em>. \u201cOn top of the difficulties to pay studio rent and show work when galleries were closed, the artists had their access to materials halted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"worthless
Miguelito<\/em>, Michael Zelehoski, McCarren Park, Brooklyn Courtesy worthless studios \/ Brett Beyer<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Worthless studios launched The Plywood Protection Project<\/a> in the summer of 2020, a solution the founder describes as, \u201cre-contextualizing a material embedded in people\u2019s consciousness since last year.\u201d The open call which encouraged artists to submit proposals to repurpose the discarded plywood received around 200 entries. In the meantime, Hamamoto and a team of volunteers collected over 200 sheets by putting out fliers in and around SoHo announcing that they would pick up excess wood from the businesses. \u201cWe explained to businesses our plans to prolong the plywood\u2019s lifespan with a purpose,\u201d Hamamoto says.<\/p>\n

A jury of industry experts, including Metropolis<\/em> editor-in-chief Avinash Rajagopal, selected five proposals<\/a> that demonstrate \u201can understanding of the project, rather than simply utilizing the material to expand existing works,\u201d adds the organizer. The selection reflects worthless studio\u2019s overall approach to the concept of artistry, which pushes the boundaries between fine art,\u00a0 design, urbanism, and public work. \u201cI believe in craft and process, which are usually overshadowed by the end product,\u201d Hamamoto adds. \u201cThe project is about what it takes to turn ideas into reality, especially in this current climate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"worthless
Be Heard<\/em>, Behin Ha Design Studio, Thomas Maine Park, Manhattan Courtesy worthless studios \/ Brett Beyer<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Selected proposals, which include interactive sculptures that range from an oversized megaphone to a performance stage, were each given twenty to seventy sheets of plywood based on the project\u2019s scope. Each project will be installed in a green space in one of five boroughs, including Staten Island\u2019s scenic Alice Austen House Museum\u2019s Side Lawn. Set designer Tony DiBernardo\u2019s<\/a> stage installation, Open House<\/em>, emphasizes the location\u2019s unique vista of Manhattan\u2019s skyline. The work will be activated through performances by local actors until June and extend the hand to the city\u2019s struggling performance arts sector.<\/p>\n

Public programming for Tanda Francis\u2019s<\/a> RockIt Black<\/em> sculpture, replicates a silhouette of a Black woman lounging on Queensbridge Park by the East River, will be co-organized by the borough\u2019s iconic Noguchi Museum. Human form also echoes throughout the art and design duo KaN+Mardok\u2019s cut-out replicas of protestors, which invite the public to meander through them in Poe Park in The Bronx. For In honor of Black Lives Matter<\/em>, they also collaborated with local teenagers to create artwork about the movement for a collateral exhibition<\/a> at the Bronx River Art Center.<\/p>\n

\"Plywood
Open House<\/em>, Tony DiBernardo, Staten Island Courtesy worthless studios \/ Brett Beyer<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

In Brooklyn\u2019s McCarren Park, the artist Michael Zelehoski<\/a> creates a monument for the history of protest\u2014from Chile\u2019s uprising against Pinochet to demonstrations following George Bush\u2019s war policies\u2014in the form of a massive caltrop, a small yet sharp metal weapon commonly used in protests. The artist\u2019s salvaged plywood rendition of a resistance symbol creates an anti-monument of injustice and remembrance of the past atrocities.<\/p>\n

A collaborative spirit starts at worthless studios\u2019 name with an emphasis on the organization\u2019s artist-first approach, and expands to its operation which, \u201cinstead of a competitive and enclosed environment, puts artists into a community connected through sharing of skills and tools.\u201d The Plywood Protection Project is a stark demonstration of this mission which also detaches a material from its political connotations and recycles it back to its core purpose.<\/p>\n

You may also enjoy \u201cNew York’s Museum of Arts and Design Puts Craft Front and Center<\/a><\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: comments@metropolismag.com<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Register here for Metropolis\u2019s Think Tank Thursdays<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and hear what leading firms across North America are thinking and working on today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last year, the New York\u2013based nonprofit worthless studios announced the winners of its Plywood Protection Project. This summer, the five installations are being unveiled across the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1273,"featured_media":83728,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"featured_image_focal_point":[],"legacy_WP_ID":null},"tags":[133,1521],"metro_tax_domain":[8],"metro_tax_topic":[],"metro_tax_program":[],"metro_issue":[],"internal_flag":[],"class_list":["post-61442","metro_project","type-metro_project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-new-york-city","tag-public-art","metro_tax_domain-cultural"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThese Artists Transformed Salvaged Plywood into Public Art - Metropolis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Last year, the New York\u2013based nonprofit worthless studios announced the winners of its Plywood Protection Project. 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