The anthropologist Mary Douglas once described dirt as “matter out of place.” Ever since we began reporting on neighborhood trash a week ago, we’ve been noticing a lot of matter out of place. Specifically, we’ve been noticing the rotating assemblage at the 16th Street BART plaza.
Last Friday, Claudia and I were shooting a video when we noticed a few things piled under a bench in the plaza: a tripod, a painting, a tape deck covered by a bath towel. No one around seemed to know how they’d gotten there. We hypothesized that maybe they were left over from the poetry reading the night before.
But then on Monday I noticed that some of the things from Friday were still there — the tripod, the painting, the tape deck (covered by a different bath towel). They were completely unattended. I asked a DPW worker who was moving a push broom a few feet away what was up with the stuff. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m just their janitor.” He was not, he said, responsible for large objects.
This morning’s arrangement: The chair and King James Bible from yesterday are still around, as are the tripod and the trunks from Friday.
They have been joined by a plastic pony, dog and cable car, which two men tried to give to me when I politely inquired whose stuff this was.
Me: But doesn’t this belong to someone?
Man in giant sweatshirt that reads “Los Angeles” in tiny sequins: Take it! Take it!
Perplexing, indeed. I’ve seen little living rooms like this develop in public spaces before, but always in out-of-the-way locations. This is a very public spot to be stashing stuff.
wowwww!!!!!!
I love this!