On Main Street in Patchogue, NY I have filled an entire storefront window with a collection of 15 years worth of used tape (and another window covered with 15 years of empty potato chip bags).  I started collecting used tape after realizing that my various artistic processes led to the use of a lot of different kinds of tape, and that often this tape was temporary and would be discarded. I often feel an affinity for the byproducts that come about by means of my artistic creations and see the castaway materials as having a vitality of their own.  Often times the decision to collect this detritus is simply an aesthetic one, without any preconceived notion of how to use the material in the future. Such was the case of the used tape collection.  After years of collecting small wads and balls, I started coming into contact with large quantities of used tape through my jobs as an Art Handler in New York City galleries, and later in my classroom as a Sculpture Professor.  During the unpacking of works of art and uninstalling shows, I was collecting copious amounts of used tape, and new ideas started flowing.  In the past few years I have started casting tape into brick forms, and have attempted to make simple furniture and structures, like stools and architectural fixtures, by compressing used tape into molds.  This latest installation is my first opportunity to see 15 years worth of accumulated tape together for the first time, and I see it is still not enough.  “Used Tape Storefront” is currently on view until October 24, 2010 at 14 E. Main St., in Patchogue, NY as part of the Walking Arts Tours organized by the Patchogue Arts Council.

For more images of accumulations by J.A.P. please visit the PACK-CAT Projects Gallery.