Plastic bags are a common sight in our modern age. They're hanging in shops, stored inside our homes, stashed in the trunks of our cars, and nestled in just about every other place where a plastic bag can go, or seemingly so.
Artist Robin Frohardt wanted to inspire people to ponder the plastic bags that fill our homes and our world. Out of this wish was born "The Plastic Bag Store," a "market" that brims with products created from plastic bags, plastic caps, and other pieces made entirely from, you guessed it, plastic.
UCLA Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) is presenting the art installation, which first premiered, to big acclaim, in New York City's Time Square during the pandemic.
The walk-inside artwork is now open at 661 Imperial Street in the Arts District.
Browse the aisles of this unusual, thought-provoking, and timely experience via a few photographs, found below. Entry is timed, and $10 is the suggested donation. Find out more about visiting "The Plastic Bag Store" at this site.
9 photos
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Maria Baranova
"The Plastic Bag Store" is on view in the Arts District from June 30 through July 11, 2021. The experience is closed July 4.
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Maria Baranova
Everywhere you look, plastic caps and plastic bags form the foodstuffs on view.
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Maria Baranova
Not only are shelves of "vegetables" and trays of "treats" on display, but "The Plastic Bag Store" also features a separately ticketed "live immersive experience where a puppet film, performers and handmade sets tell the darkly comedic story of how the plastic waste left behind today might be interpreted by future generations."
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Maria Baranova
Robin Frohardt states, "'The Plastic Bag Store' is a visually rich and humorous experience that hopefully encourages a different way of thinking about the foreverness of plastic, the permanence of the disposable and that there is no 'away' when we throw something out."
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Maria Baranova
"There is great humor to be found in the pitfalls of capitalism — humor and satire can be powerful tools for social criticism especially with issues that feel too sad and overwhelming to confront directly," shared the artist.
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Maria Baranova
Co-produced by the artist and Pomegranate Arts, "'The Plastic Bag Store' was created over several years by Frohardt in collaboration with her puppetry ensemble and features original music by long-time creative collaborator, the award-winning composer Freddi Price."
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Rundle Mall
"This has been years in the making, and Robin Frohardt has created something that is singular and amazing. 'The Plastic Bag Store' is the story one with purpose— of an artist who put a lot of small things into a rather big thing, thanks in part to friends stockpiling plastic material for her," said Kristy Edmunds, Executive and Artistic Director of CAP UCLA.
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Tony Lewis
"CAP UCLA took up the idea of bringing "The Plastic Bag Store" to LA — not exactly a small gesture, but I have learned so much about how to even comprehend the scale of plastics from working on this project. When we introduced "The Plastic Bag Store" to organizations working on the environmental side —for me it was like stepping across a threshold of feeling overwhelmed to feeling empowered."
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Maria Baranova
"When an artist's creativity is conjoined with research, knowledge and enthusiasm — which is exactly what has happened with our extended collaborators in the advocacy and sustainability communities — the impossible becomes incredibly possible!" You can visit "The Plastic Bag Store" through Sunday, July 11, but do secure your ticket in advance.
