Friday, April 22, 2011

Celebrating Earth Day


 Last year, in celebration of earth day, I shared some of my own paintings, but this year I have chosen to feature artists that use trash as their medium.



Steve McPherson has collected plastic objects from beaches on the North Coast of Kent in the UK for over 15 years. 


Wave worn, sun bleached and scarred with unknown histories, these finds are collected and collated by type or color to form lovely yet provocative works of art.


Although beautiful to look at, these pieces remind us of the fragility of our planet & what we are doing to her.


 Peter Tonningsen's eerily beautiful photographs, in his Flotsam & Jetsam series, consists of discarded objects collected from the San Francisco Bay.


Of his work, Tonningsen says "The transformation of this detritus to art appeals to me, as I feel like a child on a spirited treasure hunt, conveying value to what is commonly overlooked."



Vik Muniz, a successful Brazilian-born, Brooklyn-based artist traveled back to his homeland to created portraits of Brazilian garbage pickers using trash as his medium.


The collaboration between Muniz & the pickers or catadores transformed their lives & is documented in a beautiful film, 
"Waste Land" by Lucy Walker.



WASTE LAND Official Trailer from Almega Projects on Vimeo.




Happy Earth Day everyone! Let us be ever mindful of our precious mother earth.

2 comments:

  1. Hello, Sally.
    So, modern and provocative arts! Sally, I also clicked and enlarged your own paintings posted 2010 April. How delicate, soft and beautiful paintings!

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  2. Thank you so much, Tomoko, for the very kind compliment.

    ReplyDelete