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In the frame is a round basket of thickly braided fabric. It stands about 20 inches high and is approximately 4 inches wide at the top and widens to 18 inches at the bottom. Portions of the braids have silver plastic woven into them. The basket is dyed an ombre brown with darker brown at the bottom and a light tan at the top. There is a section of un-dyed tan braid curving along the side of the basket running from top to bottom. There are speckles of black, blue, red, and yellow on the bottommost coils.

Midden

Danielle Tutak

Recycled dyed muslin, cotton yarn, found plastic materials

Undergraduate
“Midden” is an interdisciplinary work that explores the intersections of art and waste from an archaeological perspective. It is inspired by its namesake archaeological features, middens, which are collections of domestic refuse from humans of the past. Midden questions our values of waste by asking why such an informative and universal aspect of the human experience is valued the way it is without considering what it can teach or do for us. Archaeological themes of chronology and stratigraphy are explored by the coiling structure of the piece and inclusions, inconsistencies within deposited layers, reflect the challenges of real archaeological excavation. The medium of basketry reflects common artifacts found in middens. Within the vessel are plastic bags, both giving structure to the piece and new use and value to modern waste.