In 2005, Art History Prof. Paul Barolsky and Studio Art Prof. Richard Crozier came together to create a collage of objects found in the Charlottesville area that eventually went on display under the name “Trash and Treasures.”
As Barolsky recounts, he and Crozier had been sharing an office for three or four years. The two had shared an amused interest in the kinds of things that they found in the streets as they walked between their homes and the University. Over time, the items they collected began to assume a cohesive form, and the duo decided to try and arrange an exhibit with the found items. “Our first show was relatively modest, but it received positive reviews from anthropologists,” Barolsky said.
He admitted, however, that the small exhibit was not as interesting or elaborate as it could have been. Working again with Crozier and newcomer Sandra Illescu, Barolsky set to work on a follow-up to the original exhibit. The recently finished exhibit, sponsored by both the art and anthropology departments, is now on view in the Peter Whiffle display case of the Humbert Humbert foyer of the University of Virginia’s Brooks Hall.
A collection of found items arranged to make a broader statement about human life in Charlottesville, “Trash and Treasures II” is faithful to the original’s concept. The new project, however, is both larger and more ambitious than its predecessor. The display is a mess of various items — cheap jewelry, fake currency, shell casings, weapons — which the three have rearranged into patterns. “There was a certain amount of spontaneity,” Barolsky admitted. “Some of the combinations are totally bizarre, and people have remarked on this — sometimes with laughter or surprise.”
Barolsky said the exhibit was, in large part, inspired by installation art. His personal interest was largely rooted in the work of William Seitz, an artist and museum curator. In the 1960s, Seitz’s assemblage art was put on display in the Museum of Modern Art. Assemblage art is a genre of work that involves compiling found objects into a three-dimensional product. These objects are typically made up of manufactured or natural materials, objects or fragments originally unintended for artistic usage. Seitz’s work heavily influenced the project — particularly, as Barolsky notes, because Seitz taught at the University in the 1970s.
The exhibit also focuses on the anthropological merit of these “found” treasures. In essence, the piece serves as a visual essay in relational aesthetics, a school of thought that uses artwork to judge human relationships. “The more we thought about it, the more we thought that the things were anthropologically interesting,” Barolsky said. “As we collected the stuff, it was amusing to see how it came together, arranged in aesthetic terms.”
“Trash and Treasures II” makes a fascinating statement, both as an artistic and anthropological endeavor. Not only does it serve as an thought-provoking and unconventional exercise in aesthetics, it provides an intimate and unexpected look at Charlottesville’s culture.
“You see junk on the street all the time, but you don’t really think about it,” Barolsky said. “But when you put it all together, it tells us more about who we are.”
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