Recycling

Near the homes of photographers, John Willis and Tom Young, is a paper mill that sits in the otherwise pristine and picturesque climes of western Massachusetts. For Willis and Young, this site is one of both aesthetic and philosophical contradictions: despite its verdant locale, the mill - with its ominous smoke stacks and countless bales of discarded paper - brings to mind the dreariness of industrialization and the impermanence of life itself. But the factory is actually one where such litter is reborn as reusable paper. Willis and Young's stunning black-and-white images, collected in this unforgettable volume, transform this mill and the innumerable mounds of recyclable waste it processes daily into an indelible and evocative landscape. "Recycled Realities" is not a jeremiad foretelling the consequences of excessive waste, rampant pollution, or unbridled consumption, but rather a profound meditation on the hidden meanings and connections that linger beneath the debris and detritus of everyday life. These astonishing and often surreal photos of discarded paper from the printed world trace the processes of emergence, revelation, and redemption that make the cycle of life possible. In their photographs, Willis and Young take that which we have discarded and create new forms of being in and of themselves: vibrant and ultimately life-affirming portraits of who we are as people and the realities that we constantly build - and rebuild - all around us.

Features on: Mayor Richard M. Daley's proclamation that he'll make Chicago the greenest city in America and how The Resource Center's projects are already working on this; a memorial to Mark David "Malachi" Ritscher who performed self-immolation protest of the Iraq War; How the Chicago Recovery Alliance affects change through unconventional programs; the story of the survival of a man attacked by a grizzly bear; surveillance cameras in Chicago as part of "Operation Disruption"; the redevelopment of Block 37; how the Great Andamanese and the Sentinelese survived 2006 tsunami using instinct and spirtualism; discussing living through World War II, Nazi-ocuppied France with grandma; the most expensive US House race in history with James Hill of Iowa; The Department of Homeland Security's human trafficking awareness campaign and how its exploitation of fear of women being sold into sex slavery echoes the history of the sensationalist tales of "white slavery" throughout the 20th century, masking real concerns like rights for migrant workers and sweatshop laborers; a review of the Massive Change show and how it only makes yuppies feel better about capitalism; an interview with cryptozoologist Loren Coleman; an interview about "sabermetrics,"; which is the study of baseball statistics; and why everything sucks except sports (mostly).

Artist's statement accompanying an installation at Atomix Coffee Shop.<br />