Oregon Art Commision Sculpture Project on Portland State University (PSU) Campus

Steven Beatty and Laurel Kurtz were commissioned through the Oregon Arts Commission’s Oregon's Percent for Art Program to create a site-specific sculpture, Juicy II, made from reclaimed post-consumer plastic bottle caps and lids. The work is located in the ceiling alcove on the second floor of the PSU Ondine Student Housing building, 1912 SW 6th Ave.

Click here to view Barbara Berger's Flickr set of Juicy II.

Here is Dan Girard and Laurel Kurtz at the American Sanitary Service 12820 NE Marx St. where he gave her and Steven Beatty a tour. The American Sanitary Service opened in Portland on February 1, 1980, and there were just four people working at that time. Dan started working there 18 months after they opened their doors.

They had an account with Willamette Paper. They slowly expanded, and kids' groups would bring paper on weekends. There were just a few drop boxes in the neighborhoods. They had an account with Fred Meyer that brought in 2,000- 3,000 tons of cardboard a month. Now, they get 60% of Metro's recycling, and 60% percent of the states, and today it's the biggest depot on the West coast, with one hundred employees in Oregon.

They export much of the paper, but have taken great care in educating themselves on the conditions of employees over seas. They will only sell to companies who employ humane working conditions.

Laurel took several pages worth of notes, and discovered that newspapers have a three day turn around; they will be at a house one day and three days later they will be there again, with a total seven lives. In the US newspapers are made of a lower grade quality paper, but that is not the case for many over seas clients. In Japan they require a higher grade of paper, because a tiny speck will read as a stroke in a Japanese character, and it will change the news. This is what Dan told Laurel and Steve of the paper American Sanitary Services exports.






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Steve Beatty and I arrived in New York on September 10th, 2007 after flying in on the Red-eye. All the TBA stuff was going on back home, but we had to miss it so that we could get Juicy from the International Sculpture Center in Hamilton, NJ. Juicy had been there a year, and they used the words "dispose of" in the email instructing Steve to come get it before 9-15-2007. I suggested four 30"x50" canvas Army issue duffle bags for hauling the piece home, 2 bags each, we wouldn't take a change of clothes. Steve agreed.

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Social Practices Group Blog: Nurdles

Steve and I are going to approach these guys for another interview and talk of a residency. They are who we thought we were approaching originally, and our wild goose chase has proved productive. Steve ran into someone that works here at PCC Rock Creek for Focus the Nation.



I sooo want to meet this guy. If you google his name, and do some searching, you will come across at least five different email addresses. I have sent mail to all of them, it all bounces back. Perhaps it is time for a trip.

My hero

Ben Winker, formerly employed by the Arcata Eureka Recycling Center, collected most of the caps for both Juicy and Cookie. We have also collected from the PSU campus, from recycling bins around town, from garbage we have picked up off of the street during our many habitual walks, our own caps, from people responding to ads placed on Craigslist, and from responders to fliers scattered around Portland. There have been literally thousands of caps collected from this project. We have personally handled over 25, 000 caps, as we have taken to sorting them by color after they are washed. We used to hand wash them, and now we carefully double bag them in mesh laundry bags, and sneak them into laundry mats where they are bleached. Thanks Ben! Thanks Arcata Eureka Recycling Center!