Remnants of Waste
Living in a world that is technology-dependant, it seems unavoidable that people’s minds are diverted from the beautiful view of nature. Several people usually depend on technology for almost everything and forget about how the environment can help them. Thus, they realize how important the environment is when it has been littered on. We can only visualize waste once it has been transformed into something that is more useful in the generation of meaning (Snake-Beings, 2015). Likewise, people don’t mind good things about the nature around them, they don’t see the beauty of nature and how it can soothe them. People entirely go and produce waste in several places of the world. Thus, coming to the point, that sometimes garage can or cannot make the view of nature look complete. On the other hand, littering can say a lot about you (Robertson, 2014). People can also learn something from the waste that has been thrown out as well. People can learn something about the past of the objects that are thrown out carelessly. As a matter of fact, both the points that have been said above relate to one another. When objects are thrown around the streets, they may sometimes look captivating, but at the same time people can learn something new from the waste that has been thrown out.
In the world, there are many places that are being littered. People throw garbage all over the place thinking that it wouldn’t disturb the nature. Littering may sometimes affect the nature, but it may also help the nature look like an artwork that pleases the eye. Garbage that is thrown around nature may look like art in a way with the placement of it and with the use of colours. Similar to art, since the late nineteenth century has moved far beyond the pleasing and pretty to accept into its range all manner of things, from the ugly to the grotesque, the bizarre, and even the repulsive, so an aesthetics of nature must also dissolve and admit the world (Berleant, 1992). The quote that is previously stated means that like artwork, litter and garbage dumps also look pleasing and pretty with their placements and colours. One of the images posted above depicts nature as a captivating scene with a bunch of litter around it, which makes it look complete. Nature, in some way, is attractive to some people because of the use of natural colours. However, putting litter around nature either ruins the view of nature or makes it look complete. In one of the pictures presented above, the few pieces of litter that are placed around the pile of mud makes the view look complete. Thus, the way garbage affects the environment will change every person’s view of the beautiful and simple nature.
When objects are seen together as trash, relationships of a more poetic and intrinsic interest emerge (Stallabrass, n.d.). Likewise, archeologists do some research on waste products. They try to find some information about the past use of the object. In the same way, when a person throws out some objects, those objects are considered as trash. If the objects are interesting, photographers take pictures of the objects and try to do some research on it. Furthermore, it is important to study garbage and compare the handiwork of the objects people have today. Studying garbage can also give people an idea about the past use of the objects. Studying the remnants of waste gives an idea of how people really acted, what they really cared about and how they lived their lives. The archeologists can learn a lot of things from researching on the remains of the past. Studying garbage may be of no use to some people, but it might be of use to archeologists, where they will be able to study garbage and look for history in it. Thus, even though littering is bad for the environment, it might be useful to study the history of garbage. Learning something new about waste can be interesting and fascinating sometimes.
In a way, the aesthetics of garbage and the way people study it, relate to each other. People learn something new every time they study the story behind the objects. While studying garbage, photographs have been taken most of the times, so as to remember the past. Usually the photographs that have been taken look pleasing to one’s eye. The photographs are typically taken to review them and to study them closely. Archeologists study the remains of the past, which is a little like putting together a puzzle that had lots of pieces missing. When those pieces have been put together, they look like a beautiful artwork. Therefore, looking at garbage from different point of views can make the view look beautiful from certain angles. The photographs that are taken may sometimes look like an artwork, and when people try to do some research on it, they also find it interesting to learn something new about artwork.
The meaning of trash would seem to lie in a surreal absurdity (Stallabras, n.d.). People usually throw away objects that are not useful to them. However, they come to realize its importance once it is thrown. People start realizing the importance of nature and the objects when it has been researched on and how they might make the view of nature look like an artwork. As William Shanks says that 99 percent or more of what most archeologists dig up, record, and analyze in obsessive detail is what past people threw away as worthless (Shanks, n.d.). Likewise, what archeologists research on are the artifacts of the remains of the past. Furthermore, when a picture has been taken, people start to realize how some trash can make the nature look complete and attractive. Not to mention that the nature’s beauty mixed with trash and the researches about the story behind the trash are somehow related to each other as well. Even though trash can affect the environment, it can still amuse people with the research done on it and how it can make the environment look great.
References
Berleant, A. (2010). The Aesthetics of Environment (p. 11). Temple University Press.
Khisay, S. (2017). [Photograph].
Robertson, S. K. (2014, August 28). Toronto pulls anti-littering campaign over trademark infringement concerns - The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/toronto-pulls-anti-littering-campaign-over-trademark-infringement-concerns/article20233411/
Snake-Beings, E. (2015). Trash aesthetics and the sublime: Strategies for visualizing the unrepresentable within a landscape of refuse. New American Notes Online, (7). Retrieved from http://www.nanocrit.com/issues/7-2015/trash-aesthetics-and-sublime-strategies-visualizing-unrepresentable-within-landscape-refuse
Stallabrass, J. (n.d.). Trash. Retrieved from https://www.fanshaweonline.ca/d2l/le/content/775715/viewContent/5004063/View
A mud pile that has remnants of garbage all around it, which makes the view of nature look complete because of the placement of it. The image also looks like an artwork.
