They are receptacles for our refuse, the items we’ve deemed unfit in our presence: food waste, broken chairs, filthy tissues, diapers. They’re where we throw our garbage, massive metal bins usually placed out of sight behind stores, strewn haphazardly in shadowy alleys, neglected.
They are our city’s dumpsters. And one woman wants to make them beautiful.
It started about six years ago, when Debra Greenblatt was biking through the alleys of Durango. Growing up in New York City and living through the genesis and explosion of subway graffiti and street art in the late ’70s and early ’80s, she could appreciate some solid, inspired graffiti.
“I like that slightly gray area of legality,” Greenblatt said. “I like the energy that goes into it.”
But in Durango, all she saw was tagging, those quickly spray-painted symbols that represent the tagger’s name. Tagging has zero merit in Greenblatt’s eyes.
“It’s basically putting your name out there and running, sort of like dogs pissing on things, marking your territory.”
Then, she had an idea. Why not take some of the town’s most neglected and unheralded structures that reside in these neglected and unheralded spaces and paint them, beautify them? Why not take dumpsters and turn them into art? The Dumpster Beautification Project was born.
It helped that she was friends with the regional manager of WCA Waste Corp., and after jumping through some hoops with the city, her project was approved, with the theme “Bringing art to unexpected places.”
One of those unexpected places was along Narrow Gauge Ave., an area Greenblatt determined to be ripe for beautification.
“That’s some people’s only view of Durango,” she said, referring to the throngs of daily train passengers who pass through (let’s face it) one of Durango’s least impressive corridors, with its alleys and view of the rear of Town Plaza. Today, it’s the place you can find most of the DBP’s painted dumpsters.
But why dumpsters? Why not a massive graffiti installation on the side of a building? For one, you don’t need scaffolding or ladders to paint dumpsters. Risk is minimized, liability lessened. It’s the same reason she and her dumpster painters use brushes instead of spray paint.
And her principal goal was to make her program accessible to anyone. Some of the dumpsters are designed and/or painted by professional artists. One was designed by an 8-year-old. Soccer groups and volunteers from Big Brothers and Big Sisters have come out to paint. But the most active participants have come via Senate Bill 94 in conjunction with the 6th Judicial District and its Useful Public Service Program. Christy McGinn, Senate Bill 94 coordinator with the 6th Judicial System Probation Department, said the program is designed to help juvenile offenders avoid detention and give them opportunities for positive, pro-social public service, said
In addition to providing the kids in the program with a positive connection to their community, Greenblatt’s program reciprocates. It gives kids something they can show their friends and family, something they’re proud of.
Greenblatt has gone to lengths to make everyone feel welcome, especially youths who have struggled, giving them an outlet for expression and creativity. She sees it as a very open project, affording her artists as much freedom as possible.
“Whatever you want to paint and put out there, I believe you should have a chance to do it, and the community (should) have a chance to see it,” she said.
Of course, she has a few rules, including one that prohibits gang or drug symbols. She discourages words on any designs to avoid overt politicizing. If a design is too complex, she’ll simplify it or otherwise provide gentle suggestions here and there throughout the process.
Still, some people have objected to the dumpsters, in part because of differences in taste. Like any art, some will love something, and others will hate it.
“(Dumpsters) were something I didn’t think anyone would care if they were decorated,” Greenblatt said. “I found out, lo and behold, some people are very testy about their dumpsters.”
But most of the feedback has been positive, and Greenblatt has received steady support from the community, with funding provided by Durango Friends of the Arts and other community foundations, businesses and private donors. The 6th Judicial District kicks in for some materials. Greenblatt has had many volunteer painters but is always looking for more.
After six years, the Dumpster Beautification Project is going strong. The DBP will have a public painting of a dumpster at this year’s Autumn Arts Festival, Sept. 19-20. Greenblatt welcomes both artists and non-artists to stop by and paint and learn more about the project.
“I definitely have art that I love and art that I don’t love,” she said. “Mostly, I’m one of those people who’s happy to see any art happening any time.”
dholub@durangoherald.com. David Holub is the Arts & Entertainment editor for The Durango Herald.
Dumpsters a vehicle for expression
Throughout her life, but especially while working as an art teacher at DeNier Youth Services Center, Debra Greenblatt saw the effects an artistic or creative outlet can have on kids, especially those who had run into trouble.
Those results prompted her to open the Dumpster Beautification Project to participants in the 6th Judicial District’s Useful Public Service Program, students from schools such as the DeNier Center with funding from Senate Bill 94 and the Division of Youth Corrections.
For any participant, one thing’s for sure – being good at art is not a prerequisite.
“It’s fun for the kids we work with that are not artists,” said Christy McGinn, Senate Bill 94 Coordinator with the 6th Judicial System Probation Department. “The ones that really are artists, they love it and get so involved.”
One of these budding artists, a DeNier Center student who has helped to paint about 10 dumpsters, said he likes the project because it’s something you don’t see in every city. And it just makes Durango look nicer, he said.
But more than that, the project has served as a vehicle for expression. “I’m locked up right now,” he said, so his art is mostly confined to pencil and paper. He works on stencils and fonts. He works on realistic drawings, trying to improve his shading technique.
“I’ll want to capture a picture of a rose,” he said, “so I’ll draw a really nice picture of a rose.”
One of his latest pieces is a pencil drawing of the Grim Reaper standing among garbage and drug paraphernalia.
“All of the stuff we throw away is so bad,” he said. “All it is is death and stuff.”
Greenblatt, who is helping him turn the drawing into a design for his very own dumpster, said the piece was dark, but a success.
“(It) was something he needed to say,” she said. “I always think of art as a way of dealing with demons.”
David Holub
Looking to pitch in?
The Dumpster Beautification Project is always looking for artists, donors and painters. Those interested can contact Debra Greenblatt through dumpsterbeautificationproject.org, at artfire@mydurango.net or by calling (970) 382-2529.
