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| This wedding dress was found at the reclaim station. It will make an awesome Halloween costume. |
Anyone that knows me knows that I’m a dump DIVA! I think it
stems back to a childhood trip that we took to the abandoned Pickle Crow mine
and town site back in 1977 or so. What an adventurous day! We had to break
through tough roads in a Suburban just to get there. Dad pulled out the metal
detector and we were sent free to pick through the trashed buildings to explore
and scavenge. I recall finding a doll’s brush and thinking that was a really
weird thing to find at a mine site.
So before we go any further, let’s break the stigma that is
connected to bringing home the trash. Many people turn up their nose to the
thought of having something from a second
hand store in their home, let alone something that has been pooped on by
seagulls and had a bear’s greasy ol’ butt brushing against it.
Yeah, I’m not
cool with that either, but there’s things like bleach or vinegar that can get
rid of pretty well anything, including your fingerprints. (Did you know that
most of the stuff that you buy at stores has had rats running across it too?
That’s because these products are in storage containers and sometimes there are
pesky animals there as well…just like at the dump.) But most of the time, people are throwing
things away that are STILL IN THEIR ORIGINAL PACKAGING. And I mean, people are
throwing them away, in garbage bags….not even considering the reclaim station
that we have at the dump or setting it to the side for others to take.
I posted
a bunch of free stuff on my Facebook status last week and stuck it in front of
my yard and within the hour it was all gone. Yahoo for not filling up our maxed
out landfill! And I just put a bug in Brad’s ear asking if perhaps they could
“red tag” big ticket items that come in to the dump such as kitchen cabinets,
or wooden furniture and have a special spot for them at the dump so that people
know it is good for the picking. This stuff isn’t GROSS! IT’S AWESOME! Stop
being a poopy pants and get with the recycling, reclaiming program. Can I say
poopy pants in a blog? I just did.
So what does this have to do with art? Everything!!! Artist
around the world are using reclaimed objects in new, inventive ways to show you
how to think outside the box and not only break your notions about the
conventions of art making, but also make you aware of the despicable amount of
mass consumption that is happening and the affluence of waste that is connected
to it. I can’t help but think of the fantastic website “Inhabitat” whose slogan
is “design that will save the world”. Just to give you an idea, this is the
kind of headlines that you’ll find at this website;
- · Michelle McKinney Creates Delicate and Ethereal Artwork from Industrial Metals
- · 250 Colorful Pringles Cans Make Up This Working Pipe Organ
- · Giant Buddha Statue Made of Recycled Materials Pops Up on Brooklyn Waterfront
Most working artists are working with reclaimed, found
materials for a plethora of reasons ranging from the typical cost reductions
(Hey, we aren’t called “starving artists” for nothing! Art supplies are NOT
cheap!) to the statement it creates, to the exhilarating design challenge that
we are given when an object is put before our eyes to manipulate into something
new. It is this genuine out-of-the-box thinking that makes what is created
unique and desired. And if you’re really
into “keeping up with the Jones” then not only is it practical to buy reclaimed
art, but it’s also really “in”. It’s
called shabby chic. La-dee-da. So,
basically, the bottom line is; it’s really cool to not waste, and it’s even cooler
to go and get more stuff from the dump and make it into something new again.
Then you’ll be the talk to the town. ;)
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