Johnson Trading Gallery/Joseph Heidecker
DCL
Art can be made from anything. What is so inspiring about eco-art is not just the reduce, reuse and recycle factor, it's the creativity behind the application of using trash, or leftover materials or even an old high school yearbook.
Micky Z. explains eco-art and gives 10 creative examples here. I'll just add that usable eco-art adds a thrifty and inspired reuse to cast-off materials and objects that may have otherwise met their demise in a landfill.
Joseph Heideker is a multi-media artist that approaches the application of his art by using recycled materials. His use of old photos and found furniture demonstrate that reduce, reuse and recycle is a philosophy that's not just applied to trash, it can have unexpected artistic results that are both stylish and inspiring.
When I first spotted Heideker's work on Design Milk, and checked out his thoughtful eco-statement, it was apparent that the visual connection of his pieces comes from eco-minded thinking.
"I am intrigued by the way society influences our construction of "self.
The high tech culture and multi-media world creates ideas about our sense of identity.
I use the technology of photography (found figurative images), juxtaposing that with hand manipulated ideas to explore the revealing and concealing nature in people; constructing different "masks".
I like to use discarded, found materials, things that seem useless, from flea markets and thrift shops to help provide another layer of mystery." ~ Joseph Heideker
After becoming jazzed about why, and how Heideker makes art, the DIY ethos in me kicked in. I remembered a scratched up wooden kid's desk in the garage that I would love to repurpose. It could become a graduation present using family school pictures for the top of the desk and old yearbooks photos found in thrift and second-hand shops and online.
