{"id":2046,"date":"2016-02-22T22:41:18","date_gmt":"2016-02-23T03:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/?p=2046"},"modified":"2016-04-19T00:24:02","modified_gmt":"2016-04-19T04:24:02","slug":"vacant-lot-of-cabbages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/vacant-lot-of-cabbages\/","title":{"rendered":"Vacant Lot of Cabbages"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1978, New Zealand artist Barry Thomas occupied a vacant lot in the city of Wellington, and through an act of \u2018guerilla gardening\u2019 transformed it into a cabbage patch. After owners had abandoned the lot, locals grew angry at the eyesore that the lot presented. Thomas and a group of his friends decided to plant 180 cabbage seedlings to transform the space. Over the patch\u2019s six month duration, the small group of instigators grew to the larger neighborhood, with individuals aiding in its care and holding events within the space. On the impact of its presence, Thomas commented, \u201cWhether they [the public] just leave them, steal them or run them over with motorbikes, it\u2019s part of the art because it\u2019s a reflection of our culture.\u201d <\/a>Ultimately, Thomas\u2019 \u201cVacant Lot of Cabbages,\u201d challenged notions of ownership and bureaucracy through the means of a gardening intervention.<\/p>\n

33 years later, the Gap Filler project in Christchurch, New Zealand exhibits a number of paralles with Thomas’ original project. \u00a0After the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes that severely damaged the city, Gap Filler was born as a means of reclaiming public space through small community installations and projects that filled the gaps left by the destruction. \u00a0Although the project was begun and originally funded fully through a team of volunteers, its expansion and continuation has relied upon the support of the Chirstchurch City Council, which differs from the guerilla nature of Thomas’ original project. \u00a0Like Vacant Lot of Cabbages, Gap Filler is a reflection of kiwi culture, and a pride in the ‘number eight wire mentality’ that refers to the resourcefulness and creativity of New Zealanders. \u00a0In addition to community gardens, gap fillers have included a mini golf course, book exchange and pizza oven.<\/p>\n

For a full list of\u00a0Gap Filler projects, visit their website<\/a><\/p>\n

Featured image: “Guerilla Gardening in front of Flying Pigeon LA”\u00a0by Umberto Brayj via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1978, New Zealand artist Barry Thomas occupied a vacant lot in the city of Wellington, and through an act of \u2018guerilla gardening\u2019 transformed it into a cabbage patch. After owners had abandoned the lot, locals grew angry at the eyesore that the lot presented. Thomas and a group of his friends decided to plant … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Vacant Lot of Cabbages”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":937,"featured_media":2047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"coauthors":[356,397],"class_list":["post-2046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fictions-alternative-structures-and-mock-institutions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/937"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2046"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2769,"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046\/revisions\/2769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2046"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjsymuleski.com\/artofthemooc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}