Sesame Street's Oscar the Grouch finds fame—and misery—as a garbage artist

“Sesame Street,” the beloved children’s educational program, first aired 50 years ago this month. As part of its anniversary celebration, local refuse grump Oscar the Grouch gets an unexpected taste of fame in an endearing short film directed by Jim Jenkins via O Positive that features web hosting services from Squarespace. A chance encounter on Sesame Street with a tech-savvy art lover lands Oscar his first website. Across the world, art mavens mistake his piles of garbage for inspired sculptures—and his antisocial demeanor for the affected disdain of a true artistic genius. Despite his increasingly vehement protests, Oscar is swept up in a whirlwind of critics, gallery owners and adoring fans all trying to get a piece of the latest talent on the scene. Oscar, who just wants to be left alone, rejects his newfound fame and bemoans the loss of privacy, the constant attention, the chatty people who love—rather than hate—everything he does. And in his darkest moment, Oscar finally gets what he wants. Real-life fans of Oscar the Grouch and his “art” can now purchase limited-edition art capsules from Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit responsible for “Sesame Street,” at OscarTrashArt.com. They’re created by actual garbage artist Justin Gignac and contain junk and memorabilia like week-old eggs, a feather from Big Bird or cookie bits dropped by Cookie Monster.

Sesame Street's Oscar the Grouch finds fame—and misery—as a garbage artist

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