Trash Art

Today's post is all about trash. And art. Trash Art. It's a real thing, and it's fantastic. Check out these photos!

This photo was retrieved here.

Can you tell how many different items Mona Lisa is made up of? I see a spoon, a measuring cup, a Barbie's arm, a zipper, and a ton of buttons. 

This photo was retrieved here.

The above dog is made of used kitchen spoons. The horses below are made of a collection of different plastics.

This photo was retrieved here.

This fantastic dragon is made from thousands of aluminum cans and plastic bottles.

This photo was retrieved here.

The next two photos are done by the same artist, Francisco de Pájaro. Rather than taking bits of trash and making them into art elsewhere, Francisco finds trash on the streets and turns it into art right then and there. He usually writes "Art is Trash" near his works, so while his message is geared more toward defining art than reducing waste, he still reuses materials to make his art. If you'd like to know more about this artist, you can read de Pájaro's blog here.

This photo was retrieved here.

This photo was retrieved here.
Recognize the photo below? It is a recreation of Seurat’s masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte, done with 106,000 aluminum cans. A closeup of the work is immediately beneath it. 

These photos were retrieved here.

Lastly, my personal favorite trash art is the work of artist Gregory Kloehn. He goes digging through trash for supplies to make tiny homes for the homeless.

This photo was retrieved here.

This photo was retrieved here.

In the following photo is Wonder, a homeless woman Kloehn has known for a few years now, sitting in her new home with its creator. 

This photo was retrieved here.

Hopefully this post has inspired you to create some of your own trash art!

It is likely we will see some trash art at the Ann Arbor Art Fair from July 16-July 19, 2014! Nearly 500,000 people attend this event every year. Check it out!

Works Cited

Friedman, Vitaly. "40 Terrific Works of Art Made From Common Trash - Noupe." Noupe. N.p., 12 July 2010. Web. 09 June 2014.

Inspiration, Resources. "Non-Trashy Recycled and Trash Art." Webdesigner Depot RSS. N.p., 29 Dec. 2009. Web. 09 June 2014.

"Amazing Recycled Art by Jane Perkins." Fine Print NYC Blog. N.p., 9 July 2013. Web. 09 June 2014.
"I've Seen People Turn Garbage Into Some Cool Stuff. But THIS.... This Is Absolute Brilliance." Viral Nova. N.p., 4 May 2014. Web. 09 June 2014.
Artz, Matthew. "Oakland Artist Turns Trash into Homes for the Homeless."MercuryNews.com. N.p., 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 09 June 2014.