Do you think that getting down and dirty in your garden earns you the lofty title of "artist"? For certain green thumbs, working the soil and coaxing life from it is definitely a creative process that can yield a spectacular sea of beauty. Die hard gardeners might argue that growing flowers, vegetables and other botanicals is a genuine art form because the process requires extensive planning, a huge investment of time, and the right blend of magical ingredients to make it all come together. Those of us who have tried to raise tomato and cucumber plants from a lonely plot on the side of our homes might agree that it doesn't happen without major TLC, so perhaps the title of earth artist befits anyone who is able to transform barren soil into leafy green goodness.
With so many different strokes for infinitely different folks, the very term "art" is not surprisingly interpreted in countless unique ways. Malaysian-born Tattfoo Tan, who refers to himself as a community based intervention artist, understands this. Instead of dabbling in portraits or trash-to-treasure creations, he has created a three part installation which pays homage to Mother Nature and the treasures that emerge from her fertile soils. In fact, in his Black Gold art exhibit (part of a body of work referred to as "S.O.S." or Sustainable. Organics. Stewardship.) -- now running at New York City's Bronx River Art Center from July 24 through September 12, 2009 -- he has gone as far as to display his own 2009 vintage compost (yes, you read that right) in 27 neat little 10 ounce glass jars emblazoned with gilded lettering. The artist is valuing his homemade black gold at the same rate that real gold would be priced at, so if you have a spare $9,000 that you don't mind parting with, you too can be the proud owner of one diminutive jar of rich, fortifying dirt.
Tattfoo Tan's mobile garden is another part of the grand display. Noting that discarded shopping carts are traditionally found in countless urban neighborhoods and are emblematic of the urban sprawl that pervades our country, the artist repurposed three carts into portable vegetable and herb gardens. The plants themselves are potted directly inside discarded plastic buckets, empty laundry detergent containers and other assorted plastic tubs and moved outside the art center just one blissful hour a day to soak up the sun. During the remainder of their time indoors, they are fortunately bathed in the glow of a fluorescent grow light. One final component of the art installation is smattering of patches, the artist's own NYC Master Composter certificate and the jacket that he wears to proudly announce to onlookers that he's not messing around in terms of his dedication to the gardening arts.
Perhaps the Bronx River Art Center said it best with the following commentary on Tattfoo Tan's efforts, "The artist uses organic, living materials as transitional elements that live, grow, die, decompose..." (This) "multifaceted, year-long horticulture and cultivation project, in which the artist engages deeply in the social and cultural curve of "green" ethics and aesthetics, acknowledg(es) the shortage of food at the global scale...the artist tackles the sociopolitical ramifications of the origin of food, its labor, and their direct effect on our health and well-being..." Hmmm, it takes a special kind of writer to weave that type of fanciful description. Personally, I just want to say, "Good for you, Tattfoo!...somehow you got an art center to display the artifacts of your green thumb resourcefulness. Wow." Different strokes they say...different strokes.
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