A better place to stick your gum…

Anyone who takes transit is familiar with monthly passes and Faresavers. In the spirit of these passes, which will be fading into the realm of folklore with the advent of the Compass in 2013, I present to you, the Metrobench!

Recycling everyday items into functional art is a project Stephen Shaheen, artist and resident of New York City, took on for a recent exhibit. He found meaning and purpose in the highly disposable New York City Metrocards and decided to recycle 5 000 of them into an amazingly cool, sculptural bench.

The Metrobench is not only Brilliant, Stylish, and Functional, it’s also Eco-Friendly! This is a fantastic piece of design. I love it’s fluidity and can’t wait to see what else Shaheen has to offer in the future.

Unfortunately a bench made from our existing monthly passes and faresavers would never survive the torrential rainstorms Vancouver is (in)famous for [nearly] year-round. One good downpour and instead of a bench you would find thousands of rectangular-shaped cardboard pieces disintegrated into a soggy mass of putrid pulp, lacking form or function.

Just imagine our new plastic Compass cards morphing into bright blue, rainproof bus shelters.  We all know the lower mainland could definitely benefit from more bus shelters. If only I had the artistic vision, time, and tenacity to follow through with this crazy idea… Not to mention the thousands upon thousands of Compass cards needed for this creative endeavour… Calling all Vancouver artists & Translink…

Before I Die I Want To…

What would you want to do before you die?

This is the question public installation artist, designer and urban planner, Candy Chang posed to residents in a New Orleans neighbourhood in her latest installation “Before I Die”. Chang transformed an old boarded up building into a giant chalkboard and got local residents to write what on the wall all the things they wanted to do before they die. Everyone thinks of death as a morbid subject but, instead this exercise made me reflect on my goals, dreams and aspirations.

Instead of staring blankly out the window on my bus ride home, listening to random tunes on my iPod to drone out the conversations of loud, obnoxious passengers, and whiny children, I started thinking…

Inspire at least one person to make a positive change in their life … Yes, I’m being realistic, just one…

Visit remote areas of the world that many people wouldn’t think of travelling to… Hmm, camel rides across the desert sound exciting…

Go to Montreal and stay long enough to eat everything on the menu at Chuck Hughes’ restaurant, Garde Manger… Lobster poutine with lobster gravy, delicious! (check it out, I bet you’re salivating right now)

While you’re sitting passively on the bus or the Skytrain, check out Chang’s work and give it some thought. I know it got me thinking.