Looking beneath the surface The Dump as Art
Dump as Art by Laura Raskin • Independent Arts Writer

Landfill employee Anne Marie Crane’s depiction of the dump.

Nantucket artists tend not to stray from the cleanly appealing: the beach, the moors, a sunset. Anne Marie Crane, who works at the dump, has painted the “phenomenon” of trash, which on an island, says a lot about its community, traditions and personality. Crane painted this acrylic scene of the dump in Madaket, complete with the scale, the Madaket Mall and the various receptacles for effluvia. The 20-something characters in the painting include Crane's grandchildren, her daughter and the various characters she has come to know in her very social job. The golden retriever in the foreground represents the island's dog of choice.

Crane moved to the island two years ago from East Providence, R.I., and quickly got a job at the dump. She was impressed by the operation and its league of female workers from her first tour. "I saw the phenomenon that was the Take-It-Or-Leave-It pile. I was fascinated by the phenomenon around trash," she said.

With familiarity comes affection and Crane began to see the dump for its beauty – the moors beyond it, the Canada geese goslings that sometimes gather, the abundance of wildflowers when there is no drought.

"I wanted to (give humor to) the dump and make it beautiful," she said.

Crane used to work on a wholesale vegetable farm and painted scenes there. One was a crowd of women picking 500 zinnias for a wedding. Another was of 14 children performing a violin concert in the fields. Crane's grandfather was a mural painter in New Bedford, Mass. at the turn of the century, and her father gave her a set of oil paints at age eight. "I was always painting people. Not that they were good, I just painted them."

Crane likes to focus on people. "I usually tell stories about people," she said. "I get my ideas from real life." Working in agriculture was environmental and she sees the dump as the other, natural side of that. She moved to the island to be close to her daughter and grandchildren and was especially lured by the art galleries.

Adjusting to the island takes time, but Crane is hoping to slowly break into the art scene. She is having her dump painting professionally copied for sale.

People approach Crane, known as "the dump lady,” about the Madaket Mall with intrigue in their voices, usually not understanding what it is. Crane watches as they explore and come back, sometimes carrying off more than they throw away. "They get very excited. I've never experienced anything like that," she said. "They're looking for the ultimate good score."

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