THE ART OF RECYCLING

The Italians have played an important role in the New York art scene for many years. Leo Castelli opened to Paris an art gallery. When the Nazist invaded Paris, Castelli moved to New York. He died in 1999, but the Italian connection lives on. Ronaldo Politi is an Italian artist in New York, although his world is very different. He is a "Trash Artist", he takes trash from the street and transforms into art. He and his friends used to occupy abandoned buildings and start living there. He adds that they always cleared out the trash and they often tried to salvage it and use it for something else. His life and his art were one and the same. Thirty years ago people weren't very interested in the concept of recycling, but things are very different today. He particularly enjoys collecting and working with plastic bottle caps. Politi belongs to a network called "Trash Warship", which was founded in 2000.