Art can be made out of anything, including ordinary things we find around us.
Everyday objects that we usually throw away, such as metal cans or bits of
newspaper, can be reused to make sculpture, jewelry, or musical instruments, for
example. Their value depends on the artistβs ability to see how their shape, color,
material, or design can be used in a new way. Some artists even recycle images and
materials from other peopleβs art, adding personal touches or altering the original
artwork to make their own statement.
A patchwork quilt is sewn together from scraps, remnants, and rags. Quilters,
often working together, combine these irregular bits and pieces of cloth into a new
pattern. In rural America, the traditional quilting bee gave friends and neighbors a
chance to get together and exchange news and gossip.
Public places can become art spaces. Artists on New Yorkβs Lower East Side
have transformed an old gas station into a gallery, sculpture garden, and performance
space. They turn abandoned cars and other urban debris into a community work of
art that continues to grow. . . .
The German artist Kurt Schwitters (1887β1948) used discarded objects to create
a style of art he called Rubbish. Schwitters walked the streets collecting torn pieces
of paper, ticket stubs, and bits of stringβanything someone had thrown awayβand
used glue to combine them on a plain background. That kind of picture is called a
collage, from the French word for paste. . . .
With a little imagination, any object can be used for art. During World War II, raw
materials of all kinds were in short supply. The famous Spanish artist Pablo Picasso
(1881β1973) hoarded βjunkβ such as bicycle frames, mattress springs, and gardening
tools, which he made into sculptures. Bullβs Head, created in 1942, is made from a
bicycle seat and handlebars cast in bronze.
Musical instruments can be made from recyclables. American composer Harry
Partch (1901β1974) turned large glass bottles called carboys into an enormous set
of hanging gongs. Partch named his instrument the Cloud-Chamber Bowls in 1950,
when he found the tops and bottoms of carboys that had been cut in a laboratory . . . .
Doing some experimenting of his own, he discovered ways of striking the bowls to
produce beautiful and complex tones.
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