Intro

• Gallery: Portland Art Museum

• 1219 SW Park Avenue Portland, OR 975205

• The Exhibition is run by Dillon, Domenick, Jennifer, Jessica, Kimberly, Sean and Maricel

• We show mostly sculptural work made from recycled materials

Exhibit intro

• One man's trash is another man's trash

• The Artists showing in the Exhibit

          Frank Russell

          

          Heather Jansch

          Ji Yong Ho

          John T. Unger

          Papa pata pata

          Robert Bradford

          Sayaka Ganz

          Sean Avery

          Shelly Hedges

          Yuken Teruya

• This show is about recycling. We picked recycling because of its contemporary significance in relation to population growth and the growth of resources need to support not only the human race, but all of the creatures that we share the planet with. We specifically picked artists who's work would not only use recycled materials, but also depicts things (animals,plants and the like) that naturally occur on our planet.

Captain Crunch

Captain Crunch  by Frank Russell

 

 10 feet long , 4 feet tall, and 4 feet wide.01/2010

This shark is made up of a variety recycled objects. The tail is made from a human mannequin, the teeth a made from soup cans, the fins are made out of copper, his eyes are made from yoyo's. The rest that is put together is made from metal hubcaps, candy tin, popcorn tin, coffee tin, 2 sheet music stands, and a salad colander.

About Frank Russel

Frank Russel went to school at University of South Carolina. He was mostly self taught in his expertise of artwork. He is now living in North Carolina with his wife Pamela and 2 sons. He was a painter, sculptor, and a designer for 30 years in broadcast television. He has been a studio artist for 15 years.

So why Recycled art? Russel's statement: "I see all life as a collage of found objects: experiences, ideas, desires, acquired skills. Are not all relationships: significant, personal, casual or professional, whatever, simply “found” or discovered as we move through this world ? Are they not transformed by our decisions to collect or contemplate or care for them ? I feel that nothing is wasted in awakened love’s economy" theartmaker.com Russel believes that nothing should be wasted in this economy and that there is life in all found objects and relationships can be made from a piece of trash into something beautiful.

This art piece is connected to the theme of the show because our theme is recycled art and this beautiful piece is made up of a variety of collected objects that Russel has found. I chose this artwork because I agree with Russel's statement about how there is life in the objects that he has found, and he was able to capture this statement by creating a sculptor of a shark that is life in our underwater world.

Cites:
ndigallery.com
theartmaker.com

 

Apollo

   Apollo, 2009     Dimension:Life-size     Materials:driftwood 

Artist: Heather Jansch
Born in Essex, England in 1948 (currently 65 years old)

Walthamstow and Goldsmiths College, London 1967

From the beginning my twin passions were drawing and horses, my hero was Leonardo da Vinci, and my dreams were of becoming an artist living in a wooded valley with clear flowing water at my door and horses grazing all around.

 http://www.heatherjansch.com/profile.php

I chose Heather Jansch and her work because it beautifully depicts art in such a raw form using materials from the earth. She very thoughtfully places the driftwood and shapes these graceful equin life-size sculptures to portray them in their natural setting.

Water Buffalo

Water Buffalo Head 1, 2007    Dimensions:142x145x94 cm    Materials:tire steel, wood, styrofoam

Artist: Ji Yong Ho
Born in Korea in 1978 (currently 35 years old)

B.F.A Sculture, Honk-ik Universtiy, Seoul

An interview with Jessie Torrisi by Theme Magazine helps shed some light on Ji.

To Ji, rubber symbolizes mutation. "The product is from nature," from the white sap of latex trees. "But here it's changed. The color is black. The look is scary." He tried experimenting with clay and bronze, but the sculptures looked too much like robots. "Rubber is very flexible, like skin, like muscles," he explains.

http://www.thememagazine.com/stories/ji-yong-ho/

I chose this artist and his work for the show because I thought it fit perfectly not only is he depicting creatures from our planet but he is using man made materials that are re-recycled. And in a sense to me it seems he has created this cyclical irony, rubber from trees, rubber turned into tires, tires turned in to an animals (sculpture).

Rhino

Rhino
by Robert Bradford    

This Rhino is all made out of mixed discarded toys.  The size of the Rhino is 220 x 120 x 90cms
03/2012
About: Robert Bradford

Bradford was born in London. Even though he studied painting at Ravensbourne College of Art and film making at the Royal College of Art he was known for being a sculptor creating large sculptures made out of recycled toys. How Bradford got started was creating sculptors out of toys that he saved when he was a little boy.
Artist's Statement:
"I see myself bit like a mad scientist trying to create life bring things to life." Robert Bradford


This art piece is connected to the theme of the show because our theme is recycled art and this playful piece is made up of a mixture toys that Bradford has found. I chose this artwork because I admire his creativity and uniqueness of sculptors made out of toys and how he uses all sorts of toys such as old and new toys. I also liked his statement because he feels like he can create life through his work and as for this picture he recreated an animal that is recognizable to us by using random toys that he finds.
Cites:http:
 robertbradford.co.uk
ndigallery.com

 

Emergence

Emergence, 2008. Two pieces installation: Night, Reclaimed black and clear plastic objects, 72″ x 50″ x 17″; Wind, Reclaimed white and clear plastic objects, 63″ x 78″ x 26″.


     In her creation, Emergence, Sayaka Ganz depicts two horses and the motions of both their hair and bodies as they delicately gallop through the wall.



About Sayaka Ganz:

    Sayaka Ganz spent her childhood in Japan where her Shinto beliefs (all objects and organisms have spirits) were branded into her, and then projected those beliefs through her "reclaimed creations." She only selects materials that have been used and discarded in a goal to transcend the life of the used materials into the animals or the organic forms she creates out of them. Her process of creating her pieces entails her attaching plastic materials to a skeletal structure she creates before-hand. Through her sculptures, she attempts to transmit a message of hope:

                                        "If we value our resources, we will waste less."
                                                                                           - http://www.sayakaganz.com/about/statement/

    

      I chose Sayaka Ganz due to how awe-inspiring she captures the natural motion of the animals (esp. the birds and horses) she creates. Her process of creating her pieces also amazed me due to how time consuming it is and accurate she is at depicting natural movement.


 
http://www.sayakaganz.com/
http://nanzhu.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/sayaka-ganz/

Humming Bird

Hummingbird, 2012    Dimensions:35X25X10 cm    Materials:CD shards (over 40 CDs used), wire mesh frame, hot glue, gold paint, "one week work time"

Sean Avery (26 years old)

Born in Kimberly, South Africa

I am an educated man. I have a shiny certificate from Curtin University of Technology to prove it. I received my BA in Graphic Desin in 2010.

 http://seaneavery.com/home.html

I remember how I used carry around my CD collection in a zip-up case that I kept in my backpack. It feels like just a few years back, but technology and music mediums have changed quite a bit in that time. I still keep a stack of CDs in the glove compartment of my car on the off-chance that I leave my iPod behind, but the disks are probably dusty now from disuse. What to do with the stacks of blank CDs still sitting under your desk waiting to be burned? My sculpture work is all about repurposing the discarded to make something beautiful.

 http://www.zimbio.com/Sean+Avery/articles/65e8T97TwU9/Sean+Avery+Animal+Sculptures+Created+Broken

I chose Sean Avery's art first and foremost because his work is very eye-catching and depicts animals that are naturally radiant in a medium that magnifies that quality. Not only is his art set in nature, it is also very beautiful and utilizes a material we no longer consider valuable...CDs. One of the things I appreciate most about him is his humerous approach to life in art as you can see in the quote above. The most important thing about this artist though is his own personal view of his art “I only use recycled materials to create my sculptures, which classifies my work as ‘sustainable art".

Corner Forest

Artist- Yuken Teruya was born in Okinawa, Japan in 1973. His artworks can be seen at the Josee Bienvenu Gallery located in New York. He works with various materials, including toilet paper rolls, bills, and paper shopping bags. Most of his ideas reflect the life and history of his homeland.  

Title- Corner Forest

Media-toilet paper rolls

Dimensions- 8 ft long

Date- November 11, 2008

Artist’s statement- “The toilet rolls that are sprouting and spreading branches are installed to a wall to create a forest. There is a moment when the cut-out branches and leaves start holding themselves up with their own strength. It is as if I am helping the paper awaken its ability to come to life. My works have a right to simply be beautiful or offer any kind of attraction.”

Background info on the work- The Corner Forest is a series of trees on rolls of toilet paper where the branches are cut from the cardboard tubes and extend out to create a forest. In each roll, the shape of a tree is created without adding or removing anything, just by cutting out and folding the cardboard itself. Teruya’s works explore issues such as the growing consumerism of contemporary society, depleting natural resources and other problems associated with globalism, including the threat it poses to localized cultural traditions and identities.

How it connects to the theme of the show and why you chose the work- I chose this piece of art because it displays nature in a unique way. There is a lot of detail in each roll, which shows that the artist dedicated a lot of his time to create such a delicate piece of art. It connects to the theme because the artist used recycled items instead of new, expensive materials. The artwork shows how any type of material can be transformed into something beautiful.

Shark

Artist : Papa pata pata or “father flip flop” is a very active conservationist and artist. He actively volunteers at a research facility for ocean animals off the coast of africa.

Title: Named in Kiswahili as "papa shillingi" or father shillings because the sharks is called the shark covered with shillings.

Media: This sculpture is made of wire snares used by poachers to hunt elephants and is covered with the old flip flops cut into different shapes to fit.

Dimensions:  Life size whale shark sculpture (about 35ft long).

Date: October 4, 2009

Artists statement: “it takes on special significance when the work depicts wildlife species--using objects that threaten those very animals, and the environment on which they depend.( treehugger.com October 4, 2009) Background into the work: At one time he organized with the help of a large group of volunteers from the UK to clean up the beaches in Kenya. They collected over 200 bags of debri found on the beach or floating on the water. Within this debri, was over 7000 used flip flops. So father flip flop thought he could put good use to these discarded and unwanted old sandals.

How it connects: Using materials that have been laying around polluting the enviornment harming and disrupting the natural balance of these animals lives are made into something that can help benefit these animals lives in the future. 

(http://www.treehugger.com/culture/kenyan-artists-turn-dangerous-polluting-materials-into-inspiring-depictions-of-wildlife.html)

Blue Bottle Caps Fish

Title: Blue Bottle Cap fish

Artist: John T. Unger
Date: July 8, 2006

Dimension:

This piece is 12.5" high by 44" long.

Media:
The fins and tale are cut outs from recycled roofing copper. The body of the fish is made from a variety difference from blue bottle caps. The fishes' face is made from white Beck bottle caps.
Unger's bottle cap fish piece was an inspiration by the Haiti's ritual flags, which was detailed in image with the use of sequins. At first, his first bottle cap art piece Unger combine with vitreous glass tile.

Artist's Brief summary:
John T. Unger was born on November 6, 1967 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is currently located in northern Michigan. John T. Unger was a self-taught educated student.

Artist's Statement:
John T. Unger is an artist and designer known for his art for the "Power of Fire." The Power of Fire is his project on how he makes his art by the strength of steel fused in elemental elegance to create sculptural fine art from the ashes of industry. John Unger's art is made from scrap industrial steel, cutting by hand with a plasma torch set at 4.5 times as hot as the surface of the Sun or Earth's core (magma) at 45,000 degrees Farenheit.

How does it connect to the theme of the show:
I chose this piece of mosaic for the the show because I think it shows that with any type of recyclable pieces you find or have that you can design it to anything that inspires you in nature or life. Also, I think that this captures how real it is, that the blue bottle caps are layered on top representing the scales of the fish. And copper tail curved upward with the body of the fish, it kind of looks like the fish is flapping around after you fished it out the water.

candy wrapper dress

Mary Jane candy wrapper dress
Artist: Shelly Hedges
Date: 2006
Dimensions: Mary Jane wrappers, cotton, thread, 43”x21”x5”

Artist statement/background:
Shelly Hedges is a mixed-media artist. Shelly received a Certificate in Ceramics from Oregon College of Art and Craft. She had a few show gallery at Shoalwater Cove Gallery in Ilwaco and the Kent Arts Commission Gallery.

Media: Shelly Hedges designed this candy wrapper dress from a candy I have never heard of "Mary Jane" wrapper.

How it connects:
I chose this piece because the way how Shelly sewed the Mary Jane wrapper. This design is a reusable art wear. That whatever you find lying around or any recyclable trash can be created into anything you what it to be.

Conclusion

        The main thing that we learn is, one mans trash can be, and certainly is another mans treasure. Learning about and organizing these various works of art, each made by an artist with different backgrounds, experiences, techniques, and medias have helped us realize that even though they are so very different from each other, each have artwork that share common goals. Goals that we can relate to in our personal lives and effect each person individually. Because each person is different each work of art is different, but because of our human nature we share an appeal to what these artists made; A creation of something beautiful, or with great significance and meaning, out of something that in other forms is unwanted and repulsive. Just as a Phoenix, humans have the ability to take something dead and raise it from the ashes creating something beautiful and even more glorious than before. This truly is what was most appealing in these forms of art expressed as forms of nature. 

        The process of finding a piece of artwork that was appealing to us or having significance was the easy part. Having everyone find the information about that particular piece of artwork and artist was the more difficult part. With each person having different schedules it took cooperation and lots of planning to get everything situated. The job of a curator is something that is better suited for some people in our group than others.