#BushwickDaily Insta-Takeover: Bushwick’s Discarded Objects Find New Meaning in These Shots

Have you ever walked by something abandoned on the sidewalk and thought, “I wonder how that got there?” Now imagine other people, who you may not know, collaborating with you to create that story. That’s exactly what happened when Peter Getz documented the “Discarded Objects” of Bushwick for last week’s Insta-Takeover – and we could not be more freaking pleased.

Peter, a resident of Morgantown who is often found getting into old-timey boxing matches and petting stray cats, proposed to create an insightful, funny series centered around discarded objects found in Bushwick. He nailed it. Peter’s photos from his Insta-Takeover are complex – some feel happy, some are hilarious, some feel sad. The rainy weather cast some appropriate gloom on many of the abandoned objects. And he found all kinds of things on the street – discarded boxes, stuffed animals, artwork, a key from a laptop, and like a thousand mattresses. (That’s maybe an exaggeration.)

The best part about his photos, though – as great as they are – is what happened in the comment section below them. Y’all jumped in and continued the stories that Peter set up, using Instagram as a platform for narrative creativity and fun. It was a real community-building moment, and one of the best things I’ve seen during this Insta-Takeover series thus far.

Scroll down to get a small taste of what Peter sparked, but you’ll definitely want to head over to our page to see all the photos and read all the stories that he uploaded!

This week: Stephanie Zakas looks at the old and new.

@getzpeter here on the Bushwick Daily instagram takeover. This week I’ll be showing you all the discarded objects I come across, while trying to come up with plausible backstories. Feel free to chime in if you have your own or know what really happened. This “G” key found in @varietycoffee on Wyckoff was pulled off a Dell laptop by tortured writer Daniel (pronounced Danny-El). He was slaving over a draft of his latest novel, which his editor told him had too many gerunds and wasn’t colloquial enough. Daniel decided in protest to remove the one key that would help him accomplish both. #ipromisethenextonewontbethispedantic #bushwick #writer #discardedobjects #getzian

A photo posted by Bushwick Daily (@bushwickdaily) on Dec 12, 2014 at 8:38am PST

@getzpeter with another entry in the discarded object series. Why did the previous owner leave this possession behind? I’m gonna postulate why here for you. Be sure and comment if you know the real abandonment origin or wish to tell a better story. This twin sized flower print mattress belonged to Fannie and her husband Rich. They were the lucky winners of a California King Mattress Give Away Contest at Sleepy’s, which for some reason did not include the disposal of an old mattress. Their tiny apartment could not support the storage of a twin as well as the new California king they had just received, so Rich and his cousin William took the twin downstairs, and leaned it against a blood red colored wall. As William walked away, he jokingly complimented the mattress’ position on the wall by saying: “nice lean.” #nicelean #mattress #discardedobjects #bushwick #getzian

A photo posted by Bushwick Daily (@bushwickdaily) on Dec 12, 2014 at 1:02pm PST

@getzpeter with ya here on the Bushwick Daily feed with photos of discarded objects. I’m gonna make up a story for each of them, but be sure and let ME know if YOU know the real back story, or just wanna one-up me. This discarded umbrella I found was not discarded because it was broken like so many umbrellas before it. It was discarded because Tom, the umbrella’s previous owner was tired of being confined to the underbelly of an umbrella in this rainy weather. Tom dropped the umbrella where he was standing, at Knickerbocker and Harrison, and hours later the umbrella was destroyed by a passing vehicle. No one knows where Tom is. #whereistom #umbrella #bushwick #discardedobjects #getzian

A photo posted by Bushwick Daily (@bushwickdaily) on Dec 12, 2014 at 12:14pm PST

Hey y’all. @getzpeter here taking over the Bushwick Daily instagram feed. The theme this week is going to be discarded objects. I’m going to do my best forensic scientist (is that what those CSI guys are called??) impression and develop fictitious backstories for all the objects I come across. Feel free to come up with your own stories, fill in any details I’m missing or alert me of any other discarded objects you’ve come across. This first one is a painting I found in a parking garage off Noll and Flushing. This is a portrait of Eve’s first love Reginald who recently had his first child with another woman. Eve couldn’t stand looking at it anymore, but also couldn’t bare to put it in the trash, because hey, someone should enjoy Reginald’s handsome mug. So she left it in the parking garage of her friend’s building, where young Bushwickians with discerning taste rent zip cars. #getzian #bushwick

A photo posted by Bushwick Daily (@bushwickdaily) on Dec 12, 2014 at 1:22pm PST

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