Published: December 06, 2008 10:27 pm         

‘Trashy and Peck’ debuts at home

TERRE HAUTE — Art was brought back to the streets from whence it was created Friday, as “Trashy and Peck” debuted in digital animation video.

“Trashy and Peck” tells the stories of Trashy, a small robot made of garbage, and Peck, a young bird.

Trashy has a Pepsi can for a body and old bicycle speedometer for a head. Peck starts out as a sidewalk chalk drawing, but is also presented as a two-dimensional drawing and a drawing on a piece of paper.

Peck is colorful at first, but later is made of a red outline.

Though most of the film shows the two separately, their paths cross when they both encounter a quarter and when Trashy ends up needing Peck’s help in the end.

The presentation was projected onto the west side of the former Campaign for Change building at Fifth Street and Wabash Avenue, in conjunction with the 2008 Downtown Holiday Fest and Arts Walk.

The video will also be shown throughout the week at various downtown businesses featured in the 3-minute film.

The project was created by five Indiana State University students studying computer/digital art with professor Sala Wong. This was the first time for a project such as this one, Wong said.

It was an end-of-the-year requirement to “put the animation back where they started,” she said. The students had 15 weeks to complete the project.

“It was a pretty fun experience, we got to talk to a lot of people while making this project on the street,” said Banet Tinsely, a Spencer senior majoring in art. “It was pretty fun, just to know that people were interested in what we were doing.”

Sullivan junior Ashley Ward said she was excited for everyone to see the project, especially its premiere site because they were “displaying it right where they ideas came from.”

Having shot the film in various parts of downtown Terre Haute, the students said it’s given them a new perspective on the city.

“If you look around Terre Haute, it does offer you something in art and other inspirational ways.” said Devon Lowery, a Terre Haute junior majoring in art. “It’s not the happiest of places, but it does get you thinking … Some places are all happy, but bland.”

Ezra Birt, a junior majoring in fine arts and math from Oregon, said he got lost in the project to the point that the city “stopped being Terre Haute and became that thing you’re working on.”

Ward said she saw the city more as a blank canvas than a city and was trying to figure out “what can you do with and what can you bring out of it?”

She said Peck kind of ties back to Terre Haute nicely considering all the crows. Though Peck’s more colorful, she said he could be a distant relative to the crow.

In the end, the students were pleased with their projects and hope community members enjoy themselves watching it.

Birt said the hardest part was finishing the project because it was so labor-intensive and time-consuming for the group, but they “worked great together and everyone contributed different things.”

Brian Orzechowski, a Crown Point junior majoring in information technology, contributed his Web skills to the project by overseeing the project’s Web site among other things.

“I think the project was good because it involved the community,” he said, “and it’s not every day you see a project like this.”

For more information about “Trashy and Peck,” visit www.trashyandpeck.com.

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.