Too Much! Robert Lach

I chose this piece by Robert Lach because of how much it spoke to me environmentally. I think it introduces new ways to think about subjects like environmental preservation more specifically recycling. I also believe this says a lot about consumer culture and what we give value. The details on this piece give off a very battered, beaten, and abandoned look. The suitcase looks worn out and parts of the house are being held together by thread, when things look like that most people will perceive it as garbage, something with no purpose, a useless novelty to be thrown out but Robert Lach brings it to a light where it can be shown to have purpose.

This concept is actually something people in developing countries/third world countries have been doing for a long time to make their living situation better, add more to their culture or just make light out of a bad situation. In multiple cities across Brazil typically found on the outskirts of said cities you’ll find favelas, they can be known as slums as well. A proponent factor of these favelas forming would be slavery. After they were freed in 1888 they were denied many rights, and ultimately were forced to make their own communities. 

The creativity from back then didn’t go away. It’s still very prevalent now, since then Brazil has been industrialized and more favelas have been developed and more have had advancements but their living situation is still nothing compared to the ones that live outside of the favelas. People in the favela’s today are still making use of the “mess” around them and turning it into things like windows for their homes, doors, etc..

One man named Paulo cleaned up an entire hill scattered with garbage and turned it into a garden that can produce fruit. I believe this is something that 1st world countries can learn a lot from, and that it would change us environmentally and our entire philosophy of what’s valuable in our society.

Typically most Americans give value to name brand things like Louis V, Chanel, Gucci, etc.. if we had the same mindset as people in Brazil for example I think it would save people a lot of money and in terms of environmental change people would pick up garbage like no tomorrow. Instead of finding value in stores like Hollister, Zara, Express etc.. people would shop the streets and make the most out of the garbage, the normal unnatural surroundings and ultimately make their environment more natural. 

This piece spoke to me in more ways than one, took me out of my comfortable American lifestyle and made me think a little bit more about how I used to live when I was younger and borderline homeless in Newark. It kind of hit me with a different type of nostalgia, and made me see the happiness/beauty in something not meant to be viewed that way.