"The Peace Keeper" Is Recycled Materials on a Reclaimed Parking Spot -- Climb on Board

"The Peace Keeper" by Erik Otto

​We went to Rome once. One thing that blew our minds was the public art. There's so much of it that some has been reclaimed by the needs of everyday life. You see people taking lunch, for example, sitting on what's left of an ancient fountain or a big sculpture that anywhere else would be surrounded by those little laser-beam things that trip an alarm when you walk through them. Today, pretend you're in Rome with "The Peace Keeper," an installation in a new outdoor parklet gallery at Fabric8 that's all about reclamation.

The installation itself reclaims a parking spot, and the material includes reclaimed wood, metal, plastic, vinyl, and other leftover bits of life that would otherwise take up space in a bad way. And you, dear reader, can reclaim the installation for yourself. Beanbag chairs occupy the center of the little deck. On one side are elevated planter boxes containing a small tree and other greenery. On the other is a small outhouse-looking structure that disappears into a hill of multicolored scraps arranged like shingles. Atop this hill are more planter boxes that hold flowers.

​This is the work of Erik Otto, who has been an artist in residence at Recology's garbage transfer station and also worked on the city's Art in Storefronts program. It's the first of numerous installations that will inhabit the space for nine months to a year each; a neighborhood jury will consider submissions and choose who's next to reclaim the spot in the name of art.

"The Peace Keeper" continues through August 2012 at Fabric8, 3318 22nd St. (at Valencia), S.F. Admission is free.