'A win-win all around': Trash cans offer artist the chance to show off best of Gardner

Who says trash can't look good?

Officials in Gardner have unveiled a new project aimed at beautifying the city's downtown area.

After 30 trash receptacles, which were gray and bland, were installed in the area about two years ago, officials began kicking around ideas to make them more attractive. A plan to hire a painter to jazz them up a bit with colors was dismissed because there were questions about how long the paint would last on the metal sides of the containers.

That's when officials decided to commission a photographer to find scenic spots around the city to take photographs, which would then be blown up, printed and used to decorate two sides of each bin.

"The main idea was to bring some of the areas around the city into the downtown while also helping to brighten up the area and make the trash cans look nicer than just large blue boxes," said Mayor Michael Nicholson.

Nicholson noted that other communities have used their trash bins to sell commercial advertising space but noted that route would have involved continued extra maintenance and oversight. A better option was to use the bins to promote the city and all it has to offer.

Beautification project funded by federal grant

The $9,000 project, which was fully paid for by a federal grant the city received to create new areas for public art in economic centers, also provided an opportunity to shine a spotlight on some of the creativity on display in the community, Nicholson said.

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"One of the things we’ve been doing is trying to increase areas for public art in the city, just like we did with the mural under the railroad bridge on Rte. 68," he said. "Every little bit brings a little more life and vibrancy into an area while also giving local artists a chance to show their work. It’s a win-win all around."

The artist in this case was Alex Lucier, a local photographer and filmmaker who recently wrapped filming on his first feature-length movie, "Summer Interlude," part of which was filmed at the Blue Moon Diner downtown.

Lucier said he was approached by city officials to be involved in the project during the summer of 2022, while he was working for both Nicholson and GFA, and was simultaneously involved in a photography project for the bank and looking for new images for the city's website. Lucier found himself taking photographs for each project.

"Last year, Mayor Nicholson approached me with the offer of a much larger-scale challenge, curating around 60 unique 'landscapes' of Gardner to use on the brand-new bins," Lucier said. "I took about two months of trying to find every little corner to photograph in an interesting way, then getting that done."

Photographer found inspiration all across Chair City

Lucier eventually took over 50 photos of iconic Gardner locations, everything from the big chair on Elm Street to the Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary and donated them to the city for the project.

"Many of them were places I had photographed many times before, like the trails near my house, or the basketball court down the street," Lucier said. "Some of them were places I had never been to until this project, digging through Google Maps to find possible places to check out. However, the goal was to make every one of them interesting and appealing, whether a sunset (or) unique weather."

More: Artist continues work on mural beneath railroad bridge in Gardner

The technical side of the photos

For those interested in the technical aspects of photography, Lucier said he shot most of the photos on his Sony A7iii, while for others he used an old Canon Rebel T6 or an iPhone.

"All of them are edited after the fact, which is where most of the styling comes from," he said.

Lucier took his film to fellow artist Chris Bomengen, who blew up the final prints to about 54 inches by 34 inches, converted them into wrap adhesives, and has spent several days affixing the prints to the downtown trash receptacles. Lucier's work is familiar to Gardner residents, as he painted the mural of factory workers beneath the railroad bridge on Timpany Boulevard between Hannaford supermarket and the Rte. 2 rotary.

Gardner makes an interesting subject for photographers because of its history and variety of landscapes in the area, Lucier said.

"Downtown streets, lakes, ponds, woods, fields, anything I could want to photograph," he said. "But honestly, it was more interesting as someone who grew up here, since most of the time you never stop to think about what really looks cool in your town or neighborhood. Instead, you just drive by it every day. So, this project was a chance to slow down and try to look at it with fresh, creative eyes."

The project will soon be expanded beyond the downtown area, according to Nicholson.

"We have 30 trash cans currently throughout the downtown area, and we are looking to add a couple more similar trash containers to the South Gardner village center – we'll work to add more pictures at that time," he said. "These bins replaced the old, open-air Victorian trash cans that were there previously."

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: 'A win-win all around': Trash cans offer artist the chance to show off best of Gardner