Jo Hanson
Jo Hanson (1918–2007) was an American environmental artist and activist. She lived in San Francisco, California. She was known for using urban trash to create works of art. Biography Jo Hanson was born on August 1, 1918, in Carbondale, Illinois. She moved to California in 1955, first living in Marin County, before settling in San Francisco in the early 1970s where she purchased and restored Nightingale House, located on Buchanan Street to landmark status. Hanson obtained a Master of Education from the University of Illinois and a Master of Fine Arts from San Francisco State University. Hanson died at her home, of cancer, on March 13, 2007. Career As an extension of her work on the Nightingale House, Hanson set out to address the litter on her street. Her commitment to sweeping the sidewalk outside her home evolved into a public art project and citywide initiative against littering. Hanson's work was known for incorporating the detritus she collected while sweeping. She analyzed and classified what she found as a way of documenting daily life in her district and felt that it reflected a disconnect between the consumption and production of goods and the natural world. For six years during the