Although you might think that you're simply looking at discarded objects, what you're actually seeing are carefully carved and painted wood sculptures by artist Tom Pfannerstill. His series is titled From the Street, and it features trompe-l'il depictions of tattered everyday objects. The incredible craftsmanship and attention to detail means that these works appear as the items they claim to be; Pfannerstill replicated their labels with awe-inspiring precision. So, things like Starbucks cups, a baseball cap, and an animal cookie box fool us into thinking that they were stepped on and ultimately forgotten.
On the back of each piece, Pfannerstill writes a description of where and when he found its original counterpart; he sees this as a way to catalog where he's been. And, finding these things not only marks his movements, but shows the journey of the object as well. The Starbucks cup started out as a pristine, near-perfect clone to millions of others. Over time, however, its sparkling surfaces were smudged with dirt and grit. “Each wears a record of its own particular history, has become unique,” the artist explains. “It is this difference, this particular story of this particular object that I attempt to capture.”
