On the corner of Sixth and Roosevelt streets, a 7-foot teddy bear sits with barrel cactus button eyes and hacienda creepers blossoming out of his feet, armpits and head. His presence occupies the once vacant space it resides in.
Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation, the ASU Art Museum and the city of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture collaborated on a grant application for the National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town” grant. They were awarded a $100,000 grant in 2012 for their Cultural Corridors program to activate vacant spaces with temporary art projects in and around the central light rail corridor.
Roosevelt Row CDC has focused specifically on beautifying vacant lots, as 40 percent of the land in the downtown area is vacant land and 25 percent is in the newly named Roosevelt Row Artists’ District, according to Kenny Barrett, employee of Roosevelt Row CDC and co-founder of Growhouse, located a block south of the teddy bear’s lot.
Local artist Tara Logsdon’s project proposal was one of a handful selected by Roosevelt Row CDC for the series of temporary art installments that build upon the past seven years of the CDC’s Adaptive Reuse of Temporary Space, or A.R.T.S., program. Logsdon said she puts “time, love and effort” into teddy bears that have been discarded, turning them into pieces of art.
“It’s ironic because I’m taking a bear that someone has gotten rid of, then it ends up being in a gallery under a light,” Logsdon said. “That’s indicative of everything. Everything can be featured as a special item again if you just put time into it.”
She calls the giant bear temporary art exhibit “I Bearly Give A Scrap.” The bear encourages people to reuse and recreate materials that would otherwise go to landfills. People who live environmentally-friendly lifestyles surround Logsdon, but she wants to spread awareness to people outside her circle.
“I thought if I make this giant bear, people will see it from their cars and it will reach even more people,” Logsdon said. “People will want to take their pictures by the big teddy bear, read the sign and think of their own ways they can make something instead of being wasteful.”
Logsdon hopes these ideas will be shared through pictures on the “I Bearly Give A Scrap” Facebook page.
“It’s up to us and I’m trying to help raise people’s consciousness,” Logsdon said. “Don’t be so wasteful and take more time when you buy things. Look at it: Is it junk? Do you know it is going to end up in a landfill? If it is, don’t buy it.”
Logsdon said that as a consumer society, Americans need to make more deliberate decisions in order to be more environmentally aware.
“If we keep consuming like this, we are going to be smothered in garbage,” she said.
The bear’s unofficial name is Beary White, because his skin is made of a white vinyl mesh material.
“I’m really big on bear puns,” Logsdon said.
The material, donated from design company Bluemedia, where Logsdon used to work, contains a strong plastic that is commonly used for construction fencing. Logsdon hopes the structure can withstand the heat of summer so they can continually add more plants to the bear in the fall and winter.
The entire project has been a learning experience for Logsdon. Before creating this massive bear, she had only sewn by hand. Her longtime friend and fashion designer, Malia Sias, drove from Los Angeles to help sew the bear by machine.
Logsdon also had no experience with gardening, but with the guidance of Barrett, she was able to make her art proposal into a reality.
Barrett said Logsdon’s original vision was to have the bear grow like a Chia Pet, but after talking it through they realized the bear would suffer under the desert’s summer heat. Barrett installed irrigation throughout the interior with drip-tubing so they can cut into the bear at any point, plant something new, hook up the irrigation and sew it back up.
Greg Esser, co-founder of Roosevelt Row CDC, said the teamwork between Barrett and Logsdon is reflective of the art community’s collaborative efforts in downtown Phoenix as all the other projects tend to leverage others’ resources and support, too.
“The nature of the project is going to evolve as the organic materials transform through the natural process of growth,” Esser said.
Logsdon’s project, like the rest, is designed to be short-term. The team understands damage can happen.
“Temporary public art gets artists a more excited environment to take risks and do things they wouldn’t do if it were a permanent installation,” Esser said. “From a professional practice perspective I think temporary public art has become one of the most exciting aspects of public art nationally and internationally.”
These art projects are a way to create a link to a safer pedestrian environment and “moments of surprise, joy and discovery for people as they walk through the neighborhood,” Esser said.
Six more projects will be installed over the course of the year with the majority starting in the fall as the temperature starts to cool down and ASU Downtown Phoenix campus students come back for school, Barrett said.
Barrett said he hopes that in 10 years there will be no vacant lots, at least between Seventh Street and Seventh Avenue.
“The idea is that we won’t have this program forever,” Barrett said. “The intention is to create infrastructure that is permanent.”
Contact the reporter at siwhitte@asu.edu
