In our disposable society trash is something we find almost
everywhere we go because we make more of it each day. Do you
ever wonder what we do with it? Most of us forget about it once
we throw it out, some of us recycle it, and some of us do something
entirely different. GreenWorks found five artists who place
trash in a new context, and use their expanded imaginations
to create works of art that range from simple earrings to elaborate
homes.
Follow the links below to learn more about Environmental Art:
Randall Cleaver
Neil Benson
Warren
Muller
Marcie
Gehring
Angelo
Ciotti
“One of the things that I like about found objects
is that on their surface there is a history.
I like the dings and I like the rust.”
 Randall
enjoys being able to reuse pieces and giving them a new life.
He finds free art material on the street all the time and is
always surprised by the items people throw out in their trash.
He’s known for being the most punctual man in Philadelphia
and as a result favors creating interesting clocks from found
objects. He hopes that people who experience his art will see
what they throw away in a different form and view the ordinary
as something extraordinary.
Randall’s collection includes pieces made from waffle
makers, gas masks, vacuum cleaner canisters, toasters, circuit
boards and airplane parts. He used circuit boards to create
dynamic table lamps due to the fascinating colors he saw the
first time he held them to light. He generally gets his inspiration
for pieces while going around looking for trash on his bicycle.
 
Watch the Segment
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Randall
Cleaver
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“I don't feel as if I have stuff, I feel that stuff
has me.”
 Ironically
Neil’s original motivation for starting to create works
of art from trash resulted from an urge to clean out his basement.
Instantly he was hooked and now his home is a haven for treasured
pieces of junk. He organized a group called the ‘Dumpster
Divers’ who are basically a group of artists who work
with used materials and refer to themselves as fishermen in
the trash stream. Their motto: “your trash is our cash.”
Neil is known for turning old typewriter keys into earrings
and bracelets, license plates into photo albums and suitcases,
olive oil cans into mini toy trucks, cameras into lamps, the
cup part of spoons into lockets, and the handle part of spoons
into picture frames. He has a clear idea of our trash stream
and realizes that we don’t really throw out our garbage;
instead, we just move it around creating a trash tsunami.
He believes his work is a political statement that encourages
people not to waste resources and instead transform them so
we can salvage our society.
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Now
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In-Business
(article)
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“Putting light inside an object and seeing how it could
be transformed is exciting to me.
The glow of it really attracted me.”
 Warren’s
work centers around lighting and the use of found objects as
a source for illumination. His gorgeous studio is home to hundreds
of unique lights created with an imaginative mind. He is proud
of his ability to see how a piece of trash can be transformed
and how space is created from light. People have contracted
him to take grandma’s glassware and turn it into a chandelier
while others just drop off their stuff because they don’t
want it to end up in a landfill.
He uses old and new, valuable and seemingly useless things;
but once he connects them he creates a new object. An example
is an old wooden crate filled with glass soda bottles. Warren
brought the crate to life just by adding lights to the bottles.
Ladders and old tools have been used as well as a variety of
objects that we use and dispose of regularly each day.
Watch the Segment
Now
Learn More:
Warren
Muller
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Top
“Life is a sensation
of dimension, color and texture.”
 Marcie
moved into a ‘recreated’ house that was made by
the imaginative Carl Abell. The home is a tremendous example
of how reusing materials is an effective and efficient way of
building especially in today’s age. The flooring in her
home came from an old barn, the cabinets from a hospital, the
railings from a bank and more. Her home is a colorful, vibrant
display that brings out one’s childlike nature while showing
that something so different can be functional and fun.
Marcie’s specialty is reviving abandoned chairs. After
hours of work, the chair no longer looks like it once did…dirty,
out of style, or torn. Instead, eye-popping colors or flowery
covers and shiny buttons draw your attention. She also gathers
paper to make lampshades, arranges pens to make people, uses
tarps to make canvases and more. She loves the good feeling
she gets from bringing these items back to life and finds even
more satisfaction when she hears people say, “I can do
that, what do you use?”
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“I can’t pass a dumpster without looking in it.
No matter how dressed up I am,
I have to climb that ladder and peek over the edge.”
 Angelo
specializes in making things live again within the environment.
He transforms land that has been damaged by industry using vegetation
on the landscape like a painter uses paint on a canvas. He took
his craft and decided to make a home that would flow into the
earth. He feels as though he created an organic living space
that is constantly growing. This growth enhances his family’s
connection with heaven and earth.
He quickly realized, while building the space, that reusing
other people's trash was an inexpensive source of materials.
He now has a ready made house from what people throw away. He
saved flooring, cabinets, and insulation and found scrap lumber
to make steps, turned car windows into tabletops, and his prize
find (now a dining room table) came from a huge piece of window
glass that broke during transport to a corporate executive’s
office.
Watch the Segment
Now
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GreenWorks:
Rough Terrain — Found Objects at the Noyes Museum
GreenWorks:
Radio — ReCreation/Recreation
GreenWorks:
Choose to Reuse — Junk Sculptor
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