Art is Where You Find it

( Pierrot Barra, Batou, 1997. Recycled plastic dolls and boat, October Gallery, London)

It has been a long time since I wrote an “art is where you find it” post, but I’m rather in the mood to just now….

This evening I was reading about the many different cultural influences on Haitian art work. One author described the sculptures of Haitian artist (Pierrot Barra) as interpretations of the mysterious, the unknown “lurking in plastic, plaster and paper imports (transforming) foreign detritus into objects of sacred art.”

Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries, has one of the richest cultures of visual art. And in Haiti, art can literally be made out of anything: discarded bits of fabric, string, sequins, plastic, beads, wood, bottles–whatever is immediately available. It is the insight of the artist that brings transformation unto what would otherwise be regarded as trash, as useless scraps. In our throw-away society, on this earth over-burdened with waste, reusing materials such as cardboard, plastic, string and cloth to create an art work seems like a kind of magic to me.

Many of my students this year will experience the excitement of transforming humble materials into works of art. I have been stockpiling everything I can get my hands on and have had lots of help from other teachers at Patapsco too! Who knows what you might transform!