My Life In Garbology

By A. J Weberman

Subjects: Found objects (Art), Refuse collectors, Anecdotes, garbology

Description: The now-standard investigatory practice of dumpster-diving to gain insight into a person's behavior was not always so standard. One of the first (and only) books to document the process comes from this 1960's Bob Dylan fan who simply wanted to know more about the famous singer and poet. This required finding out where the singer actually lived (which was not public information), where the trash for the residence was kept, and what dangers existed in approaching the cans. The risks only increased from there. The efforts resulted in the striking up of a relationship with Dylan (sometimes cordial) as well as the formative codification of methods in this unconventional approach to human intelligence.