It's a Win-Win Situation December 5, 2008

Jean Shin; Chemical Balance II; 2005; Prescription bottles, mirror and epoxy, 7 units, from 18 to 38 inches in diameter; Overall dimensions variable; Commissioned by University Art Museum, Albany, NY; Photography by Ford Bailey

Is your wife begging you to part with your old Little League trophies or that shuffleboard MVP figurine from the '79 singles cruise? Furthermore, have you always wanted to be immortalized in a monumental work of art? Then New York artist Jean Shin has a project with your name on it.

A nationally recognized artist, Shin collects scavenged and obsolete materials such as worn-out shoes, empty pill bottles, broken umbrellas, and discarded lottery tickets, laboriously deconstructing, altering, and reconfiguring to breathe new life into these castoffs of consumer society. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Shin's work is the collaboration that results; her work often becomes a catalyst for a dialogue between the organizing venue and its community (presumably the original consumers of the materials).

From May 1 through July 26, 2009, Jean Shin: Uncommon Threads, a presentation of Shin's work, will be on view here at American Art. Unveiled as part of the exhibition will be Everyday Monuments, a new, large-scale installation composed of hundreds of old trophies transformed to represent the mundane tasks of humanity. Deliciously ironic? We think so too. And what could be more trophy-worthy than the daily heroisms of government workers and non-profit interns? Nothing, you say? We won't comment, but the artist is currently collecting trophies from local residents, so the piece will represent the true monuments of Washington, D.C.—its inhabitants.

Donated trophies should have figurines (no plaques or ribbons, please), which will be transformed to build Everyday Monuments. If you live in the Washington, D.C., area and are interested in donating a figurine trophy to the artist, please bring it to American Art's Luce Foundation Center before December 13. Trophy donations will become the property of Jean Shin and cannot be returned. Who knows? Maybe your old bowling trophy will finally see its day!

For more information about Everyday Monuments, or to donate trophies directly to the artist, e-mail info@jeanshin.com.

• Jean Shin, Trophies, American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum