Amy Wilson Faville - Carts

One of the great strengths of good art is the power of perspective. You may look at something every day, pass it by and not give it a second thought. Amy Wilson Faville's Carts takes the beauty of mixed media and brings new light and a new perspective to the national crisis of the homeless. 

Wagon Train - 2007

These carts are based on the actual shopping carts of the homeless in San Francisco’s Mission District. 

Fixie - 2009

You can see more of her series "Carts" here.

Magic Carpet Ride - 2007

In an interview, Faville discusses how she lets her surroundings inspire her work. She moved from San Francisco to Oakland last year and started a different but similar project:

 "Since moving to Oakland a year ago, I've been photographing the things that people dump on the sidewalk. I'm interested in the narratives suggested by the contents of these piles (a teddy bear, a bolt of fabric, a suitcase, a seemingly new Ikea couch), and in the tableaux created by heaps of discarded belongings in the midst of a street, which I see as a metaphor for economic and societal collapse. I use these photos as references for paintings (oil on canvas). Translating the images into paintings allows me to make them more beautiful and seductive, enticing the viewer into looking at (and thinking about) something they might ordinarily turn away from. "

Caravan - 2007

 She also said that through these projects, she hopes to turn images of squalor into images of splendor. I think these are awesome. I also like how she changes the mood of each piece with the background tone.