Eco Trash Couture
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Nancy Judd’s Recycle Runway Exhibition in the Atlanta Airport, 2012
In 2011-2012 I had an exhibition of 21 of my sculptures in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for 14 months. The ATL Airport has invited me back for a second show in 2016 because the first one was “one of our most popular exhibits”! The exhibition will open in the fall of 2019.
I’m so very honored that David Vogt and Katherine Dirga, the team behind the Atlanta Airport’s impressive Airport Art Program, have asked me to return– it is a great validation of the work that I have been doing for the last 15 years! I’m also excited because they want me to create a new body of work for the exhibit made with the airport community including airlines, concessionaires and contractors. Many of the sculptures will be made in interactive educational workshops with airport employees, passengers and other ATL community partners including school children. The educational opportunities and reach of this project are really thrilling to me!
In the coming months we will be reaching out to other organizations for collaborations and sponsorship. Please let me know if you are interested in being a part of this exciting exhibition… and stay tuned for updates as the project unfolds over the next three years.
Nancy@RecycleRunway.com
505-577-9712
I de-installed my Recycle Runway exhibition in the Atlanta International Airport last month and sent it home to Santa Fe– it was sad to say goodbye to such a great venue!
Giving a tour of the exhibition to passengers and airport employees
I first met with the Atlanta’s Airport Art Program staff, David Vogt and Katherine Dirga, over 5 years ago for 15 minutes in-between flights. They generously agreed to meet at my gate for a quick introduction and look at my portfolio. When they informed me a couple of weeks later that they would like to exhibit my work, I was thrilled because they have curated such a wonderful permanent collection and rotating exhibitions. Also, knowing that ALT is the busiest airport in the WORLD; I was humbled by such an incredible opportunity to reach so many people with my message of environmental stewardship.
We installed the exhibition in May of 2011 (you can read about our midnight adventures in my blog post from May 10, 2011) and we took it down in the second week of July, 2012. Nineteen garments were initially installed in nine cases and an additional three were added to a tenth case that the Airport Art Program installed in January of 2012 in the entrance to the terminal between the escalator and the information desk. The airport estimates that during this time over 15 million passengers passed through Concourse E!
The exhibition was advertised with a 30 second video on the CNN TV monitors located throughout the entire airport. It was seen several times each day that it was aired. Click here to view the video.
The exhibition was generously sponsored by Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Janome, and Novelis and my Green Partners: Earth911.com, the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Georgia Recycling Coalition, Keep America Beautiful, Keep Georgia Beautiful, the Phoenix Airport Museum and the Turner Foundation.
I was overwhelmed by the number of print and electronic media outlets that covered the exhibition over the 14 months it was on display.
| Misc Press Outlets -USA Today Travel -CNN -Yahoo -NBC/ 11 Alive -Delta’s Sky Magazine -Clayton News Daily -Atlanta Day Book -Metromix Atlanta -Future News Network -Orbiz.com Blog Posts -Delta -Atlanta Airport -BlueGreen -Chimeras -Fashiongraphia -Stuck at the Airport -Talking with Tami FlickR -Atlanta International Airport -HaveIgotastory4u’ -FilipinoOnSkis |
Websites -TrendHunter -Chic Republiq -Examiner -Terminal U -Ecouterre -PolarTREC Magazines and Newsletters -Resource Recycling -Southern Seasons -New Mexico Recycling Coalition -Georgia Recycling Coalition -Glass Packaging Institute Pintrist -Click to view numerous “pins” of the exhibition. Other Social Media -FourSquare -Tumblr -Twitcsy -Twyla |
There were so many really heart-harming moments for me during this exhibition, here are a few samples:
- I received several notes from friends who I have not see for over 20 years that came across my exhibition in the Airport and sent photos of their kids in front of favorite garments.
- An Army Sergeant that flew through Concourse E numerous times while the exhibition was on display wrote to me often. The installation motivated him to contacted the airport to find out how he could help to improve their recycling program.
- A Grecian hair-dresser saw the exhibition and was inspired to start a trash fashion show in Drama City, Greece, outside the National Bank of Greece.
- One of the airport employees, Mr. Jones, who buffs the floor at night in Concourse E told me this: “I will be sad to see this exhibition go, I watched a lot of passengers taking photos of it. In fact I took a photo of one of the dresses and showed it to my son. He got inspired and did a recycling project for his middle school class!”
THANK YOU to everyone that helped to make this exhibition a success!
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What’s next for the Recycle Runway Collection? Last week it began a tour of museums starting with the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe. It is also scheduled to be exhibited in the The Bascom Visual Arts and Education Center in North Carolina and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin. If you know of any museums or art centers in your region that might be interested in hosting the exhibition, please let me know!
Nancy wearing the Caution Dress during her TED talk
Over a year ago I asked my cousin, Grant, and my friend, Michele, who are both police officers, if they would save “police tape” from crime scenes for me. Within about 6 months I received big tangles of yellow tape, some with stories I did not want hear. I also began gathering “caution tape” from less dramatic locations on the side of the road. A big pile of bright yellow plastic sat in my studio like a bunch of spaghetti for another year before two perfect dresses presented themselves to me.
The first was The Caution Dress. I was scheduled to give a TED talk in Albuquerque, and needed something memorable to wear. Because of the message of my talk, buying a new outfit was definitely out of the question! What should someone who designs clothing from trash wear when she is being asked to talk about what she does?Well, something made from garbage seemed pretty obvious! Further, I wanted my visual image to be a quick summary of my talk regarding my concerns about the effects that humans are having on the earth. A dress made from caution tape seemed like the obvious answer! View my TED talk and read my blog post about the experience here.
Crime Scene
The second dress, it is called Crime Scene. It is made from police tape that reads: “Crime Scene Do Not Enter”. At first I thought it would be an edgy and fun garment, but soon I realized that this piece is very serious… for me it’s the most provocative work of art that I have ever created. It is about many forms and levels of violence: It is about sexual abuse. It is about the destructive effects of the fashion industry on the people who grow, sew and model clothing as well as those of us who are made to feel inadequate in numerous ways so as to “feed” the industry with consumers. It is about the destruction we have done to the body of mother earth. It is about the over 200 toxic chemicals deposited in each of our bodies from our poisoning of the earth.
No, this did not end up being a fun dress. But like many of my pieces it is deceptive. From afar people may find it to be an appealing design, and only upon closer inspection will they discover some of the deeper meanings.
Crime Scene, The Caution Dress and Eco-Flamenco, which I made this fall in Grand Rapids, will join the rest of my 18 garments on exhibit in the Atlanta Airport (International Concourse E) in about 2 weeks. They will be showcased through May of 2012 in a new case that the Airport has just built in the entrance to the concourse, at the top of the escalator.
As the year comes to a close I want to thank all of you who have supported me in many ways as I installed my exhibition in the Atlanta Airport, presented my TED talk, created new garments in Evanston, IL and Grand Rapids (Eco-Flamenco), and gave numerous workshops around the country. It was a busy year, and I could not have done it without the help and support of so many of you! I look forward to an equally, exciting year in 2012! Stay tuned….
Crime Scene photographed by Jay Studevant.
The Environmental Steward-ess
Fly away with this super-hero stewardess uniform made from airline discards.
The uniform, hat and purse are sewn from worn-out leather seat covers from Delta planes. The cape is made from replaced safety cards, Sky Magazines, old plane tickets, and pretzel wrappers all cut into strips and sewn onto worn pillow cases. The cape was then lined with a discarded Delta blanket. Both the cape and purse appear to fly in the wind thanks to armatures created from metal wire used for yard signs during the last presidential election. Recycled aluminum cans were used to create the vintage Delta symbol on the purse, hat and belt. The Purse was designed and made by Tierra Ideas. Completed in 2011.
Commissioned by Delta Air Lines.
Read more about the making of theEnvironmental Steward-ess.
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Did you know that airlines reduce their environmental impact by:
- Recycling aluminum, plastic and paper used on board the planes.
- Installing a little winglet on the end of the airplane wing.
- Offering “carbon off-sets” to customers for the miles they fly.
- Researching use of alternative fuels that are less harmful to the environment.
Many airlines, including Delta Air Lines, take all the measures listed above, plus they are instituting more efficient flight planning; dispatch procedures; flight operations procedures; and air traffic control initiatives that can save 70 million gallons of fuel per year.
Source: www.news.Delta.com
Recycle Runway in Airports
Airports provide Recycle Runway an opportunity to reach millions of international travelers often with time to spare. Airports include public art in their buildings to reduce the stress associated with airline travel, and Recycle Runway provides an engaging and educational experience to passengers while they wait for their plane.
Nancy is excited to announce that due to the popularity of her first exhibition in the Atlanta Airport, they have invited her back to install a 2nd show of all new work in 2017!
Following are the airports participating with Recycle Runway:
- 2nd Exhibition, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Fall 2019
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Feb 2011- Mar 2012
- Phoenix International Airport, Feb 2010-Sept 2010
- Pittsburgh International Airport, Aug 2008-Aug 2009
- Albuquerque Sky Harbor International Airport, Oct 2007-Jan 2008
Recycle Runway in the Phoenix International Airport
Praise about the Recycle Runway Exhibition:
“Nancy Judd’s Recycle Runway installation was one of our most popular exhibitions.”
David Vogt, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Airport Art Program Manager
2012 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Exhibition
Nancy Judd’s Recycle Runway exhibition in the ATL Airport, 2012
Twenty one of Nancy Judd’s eco-fashion sculptures were installed in ten cases located throughout international Concourse E from May 2011-June 2012. You can read blog posts about her midnight adventures installing the exhibition and a final report on the installation. You can also take the Eco-quiz and perform some E-activism that was a part of the show.
The following video showed on the CNN channel at every gate through out the Atlanta Airport several times a day during the exhibition!
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Thank you to Atlanta’s Airport Art Program staff and the sponsors for making this exhibition possible! |
