“The art projects we like the best involves finding a new sandbox. It’s like someone says ‘here’s a new area to play in. What would you do if we give you access to blank,” explained OK Go frontman Damien Kulash in a behind-the-scenes segment. A former graphic designer, Damien has directed several the band’s, videos including their original viral hit Here It Goes Again. OK Go’s “sandbox” this time was a room full of A4 office paper. Sponsored by the Thai paper company Double A, the video is as much a testament to OK Go’s deep fount of ingenuity as to their sponsor’s “extra smooth” paper stock.

“I wasn’t sure it was possible to get tens of thousands of prints through these printers with no errors,” says Kulash.

Obsessions is another artistic triumph for OK Go—and would be an original production, if not for the clichéd disclaimer in the beginning. The opening sequence reads: “By the time you see this, all this paper will have been recycled and proceeds give to Greenpeace,” a lapse into a familiar sustainability punch line.

Green cliché
Green cliché
Image: OK Go

A behind-the-scenes clip shows printed paper being collated in neat stacks, presumably to be sold by weight. “Because we’re in Japan, when you recycle, you can actually make money and we will give that money to environmental causes,” says Kulash in the video.

Producing great art requires a lot of resources. OK Go can’t be faulted for requiring tons of paper and ink for their experimentation. What’s bothersome is the vague, unsubstantiated—perhaps unnecessary—feel-good statement about recycling. Like the Target designers who wasted 16,000 edible chicken eggs to decorate a dinner party, the statement perpetuates the myth of zero-waste cycles. Just because something is recycled doesn’t guarantee that resources were not wasted and that there was no harm to the environment.

Post-production
Post-production
Image: OK Go

OK Go didn’t reply to our request for additional details about their recycling efforts, including how much ink jet toner was used in production (toner cartridges are considered electronic equipment and contribute to the global e-waste problem.) Greenpeace declined to confirm their donation and comment on this story, out of respect for the privacy of their donors, it said.

📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief

Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.