materials as art mediums, the impacts of using those and the impacts of disposing of them, as well as continuing his learning of Eco Artists through including some Eco Artists in his course curriculum.

Although Neely remains involved in the Eco Art sphere through his contact with it in teaching, he can also be considered a contributor to the movement through his work on a project entitled, “The Artist in Transit.” Working with Partners for Active Living, SpartaBus, and the City of Spartanburg, Neely started a blog on the internet that would be used for posting clues on where to find his most recent piece of art located somewhere throughout the city. Putting each artwork in a Ziploc bag along with a stamped and pre-addressed postcard inviting the finder to create their own piece of art and send it back in, Neely placed his work in locations that would encourage those searching for them to explore new parts of the city, or to travel to the pieces in ways that they might have perhaps not otherwise considered. Lasting for six months, Neely hid a new piece of original art every day during that span of time.

                      “By design, we were trying to get people to be more active with the Partners for active living piece—there are some studies that show that if people ride the bus they will be more active, and, of course, that’s also better for the environment. That was another side to what we were trying to do, to get people to use public transportation instead of driving their own vehicles. It was also used to highlight walking trails, bike paths, city spaces, as well as places like the cottonwood trail…Glendale and Hatcher Gardens.” (Neely). Wrapping the project up in 2008, Neely and the project partners planned an event to serve as the culmination of the project. For this event, held at the bus transportations headquarters in downtown Spartanburg, Neely created an abstract piece (larger than the ones left in the scavenger hunt) that depicted something reminiscent of a double sunset. Wrestling with some of the issues found in the relationship between the city and the environment—in a sense the “urban blight”— Neely’s piece was sold to a collector from the Upstate Forever conservation program. Neely knew prior to the event that a large audience was participating in the project simply from email contact and word of mouth, but the extent of the project’s effectiveness was truly realized in the audience’s response to and presence at the final event. “We hung up the postcards we received, and people brought hundreds of those back. There were illustrations that other people had created—sometimes children, or adults, or other artists—and we put those on the windows of the bus station. People were also invited to bring and show the art that they found. Lots of people came with the little artifacts that they found around town” (Neely). Neely also believes that this project succeeded in calling attention to Spartanburg’s public transportation system, which even led to some discussion on the way the bus system runs in the city concerning how far they reach, what areas they cater to, and who their target demographics are.

            The project also caused Neely to make some personal lifestyle changes. During the six months of “The Artist in Transit,” this artist decided to give up his car and rely solely on his feet, the public bus system, and the kindness of friends willing to carpool. Not only did this raise Neely’s personal consciousness of his movement, forcing him to think more about where he was going and the necessity of each trip, but it also provided him with good personal health benefits to be moving in such a way. When asked if he kept up this lifestyle since the project ended, Neely admitted that he was guilty of going back to the car, especially now that he has children to transport as well. However, this does not mean that his project was for naught—the project clearly drove Neely’s and other participants’ approach to transportation to become more environmentally conscious throughout its duration (Neely claims some continue it to this day), but the interactive art project brought with it a discussion of the truly automotive, self-driven society that makes up the infrastructure of Spartanburg, South Carolina. “It’s a really interesting culture that we live in,” Neely claims. “It definitely has an environmental impact that we seem to continue to allow ourselves to be unaware of, even though it’s significant and there are lots of indicators that tell us it’s not good for us or our home” (Neely). While Neely is unsure of whether or not he will revive this particular project again, he enjoys working with recycled goods, continuing in a different strain of Eco Art.