third grade
Recycled Fish - JUNK ART
Junk art (sometimes also called "trash art") is a genre of art where the art is made from bits and pieces of things thrown away (sometimes literally rescued from the trash). Junk art sculptures are made of things we ignore and throw away everyday like old cell
phones, golf balls, action figures, computer cables, soda bottles, old baby
dolls, toys or any kind of recognizable objects made of plastic, metal and wood. This style of art began in the 1960s, but has recently seen a huge resurgence in the art world, perhaps because of a global focus on recycling. In fact, it is so popular now in contemporary art that junk objects are beginning to appear in many different types of art, including painting, sculpture, assemblage, installation and conceptual art.
Here are three major artists working in this field:
Robert Bradford
‘For a long time now I have preferred to use materials that are not bland i.e. have some kind of history of weathering or use. One day about four years ago out in the studio I was looking into my children’s box of outgrown / discarded toys which happened to be stored in the same building and responded to the random collection of colours shapes and forms they made. I figured that if I could find a way of putting them together to constitute a larger form they would have great potential as larger scale sculpture.’
Leo Sewell
Leo has developed his own art style over the last 50 years. His notable works are mostly composed by charming plastic objects, metals and woods and were collected by corporations, museums and individuals all over the world.
Dario Tironi
In a series with fellow artist Koji Yoshida called "Crash Toys," Tironi features colorful used toys as the medium for humans and animals that seem both real and robotic at the same time. This series comments both on the skill of humans to create, but also challenges us to think of how much we waste in our society.
Robert Bradford
‘For a long time now I have preferred to use materials that are not bland i.e. have some kind of history of weathering or use. One day about four years ago out in the studio I was looking into my children’s box of outgrown / discarded toys which happened to be stored in the same building and responded to the random collection of colours shapes and forms they made. I figured that if I could find a way of putting them together to constitute a larger form they would have great potential as larger scale sculpture.’
Leo Sewell
Leo has developed his own art style over the last 50 years. His notable works are mostly composed by charming plastic objects, metals and woods and were collected by corporations, museums and individuals all over the world.
Dario Tironi
In a series with fellow artist Koji Yoshida called "Crash Toys," Tironi features colorful used toys as the medium for humans and animals that seem both real and robotic at the same time. This series comments both on the skill of humans to create, but also challenges us to think of how much we waste in our society.
the Project
*need to have class donate 2 liter bottles before project (takes a couple weeks to collect)
Prep – 1 hour 30 min (includes making sample and cutting and taping all 2 liter bottles into fish, will be shorter with 2-3 parent helpers)
Print – John Outterbridge, California Crosswalk
Materials
1 clean 2 liter bottle per student and an extra for sample
Squares of brightly colored tissue paper separated in plastic bowls (12-15 bowls)
Starch
Paint brushes
Cups to put starch in
White scrap paper to draw eyes
Glitter
Sequins
Glue bottles
Tape
Scissors
Paper plates, 1 per student (this will be what they work on and what the fish can dry on)
Parent Prep
Prep – 1 hour 30 min (includes making sample and cutting and taping all 2 liter bottles into fish, will be shorter with 2-3 parent helpers)
Print – John Outterbridge, California Crosswalk
Materials
1 clean 2 liter bottle per student and an extra for sample
Squares of brightly colored tissue paper separated in plastic bowls (12-15 bowls)
Starch
Paint brushes
Cups to put starch in
White scrap paper to draw eyes
Glitter
Sequins
Glue bottles
Tape
Scissors
Paper plates, 1 per student (this will be what they work on and what the fish can dry on)
Parent Prep
- I started a month before having the class bring in 2 liter bottles. I would collect them at the end of each week and make sure they were clean and cap was off to dry. I stored them in garbage bags in my garage.
- A couple of days or a week before project I contacted some parent helpers to come to the Art Room and help me cut the bottles and tape them into a fish shape (see pictures of how to cut and tape).
- Have a parent volunteer tie fishing line through one of the fins so that it can hang when the kids are done. Putting it on before will make it easier for you and the kids to work. Just remember to tell them not to put starch and tissue on the fishing line (see sample on wall).
- Make your sample by covering fish with starch and layering tissue paper, draw eyes, cut them out and glue them on either side of fish, add glitter and sequins at end. Lay on paper plate to dry.