Dave Olsen's 'Rain Jug' is part of Brave Brooklyn

Brave Brooklyn is an art exhibit and auction to benefit the Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn (OSA) and Trust Art projects supported by OSA. Brave Brooklyn will be open to the public December 4-11.

Along with various other works, including that of pre-eminent sculptor Richard Serra and mixed-media artist Fred Tomaselli, this exhibition features the artwork of Trust Art artists proposing new public art projects in collaboration with OSA.

To help fundraise for Dave's upcoming public artwork, Recycling Life, Trust Art and OSA are auctioning this piece by Dave:

Rain Jug, 2007, stoneware, waxed canvas, & forged steel

Much like the Olsen's Salt Harvesting project, Rain Jug speaks to the tenuous relationship between humans and our natural resources. With its sleek waxed wings, the vessel collects rainwater as it falls from the sky, providing vital sustenance to its owner in especially dry areas. However, the life-giving water simultaneously becomes a burden once the ramifications of the shackle is realized, for how does one drag the vessel without doing harm? Much like humanity's dependence on the natural environment, one is inescapably linked to Rain Jug both as a precious source and as a never-ending burden.

Go to eBay to bid on this piece.  The starting bid is $400 and the auction closes on December 11 at 9pm (EST).

The work is on view until December 11 at 30 Dobbins Street in Williamsburg.  There is a closing reception open to the public on December 11, 6-10pm.  Join us if you are in Brooklyn!

Other artists in this exhibit include: Bradley Brown, James Case, Ryan Goolsby, Weston Woolly, Emily Goode, Suzanne Zwicky, Gidalya Tashman, Karl Metz, Adam Taye, Chris Burnside, James Woodward, Robbert Jan de Oude, Sam Martineau, Lizzy Wezler, Matt Jones, Kristin Deirup, Jesse Witkin, Kris Graves, Nathan Koch, and Molly Surno.

More info at bravebrooklyn.com


Bushwhick Inlet

The Bushwick Inlet is the site that Dave has narrowed down to for his proposed installation in Greenpoint. You can find the location on the map here. We are in the process of getting the necessary permits from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Here's what the application is looking like:


Let us know if you have experience working with this agency, or would like to be involved in some way. Email theliason@trustart.org

Photo above by Ryan Muir

Floating Evaporators

These are the first blueprints of the floating salt evaporators that Dave is installing off the shores of Greenpoint.

The First Industrial Wasteland

57 years ago, oil slowly began leaking into Newton Creek, the horribly polluted little industrial waterway that separates Greenpoint from Long Island City. Today, there is somewhere between 17 and 30 million gallons of oil lining the bottom of the creak along a 4 mile stretch.

Where Newton Creek meets the East River, there is a series of sites that will be the future home of Dave's floating salt flats. Throughout August and September, Dave will build a series of floating sculptures that will evaporate water from these estuaries, leaving the salt behind. The salt will of course be horribly polluted just like the water, but the pollution is made manifest in a form that is much closer to our bodily consumption.

I talked with Dave about how he sees the public use of these waters hplaying out as he is constructing and performing the piece. He envisions a place people can come 'hang out' and experience first hand the primitive process of collecting salt from the water. Please contact us if you are interested in participating.