Unit 5: Conscious Art (1ère AMC)

 Artists and Waste:

Doc 1: Dereck Gores

 

The two artworks under study are pieces made by the American artist Dereck Gores. The first one, Blowing Bubbles, represents a young boy lying on the grass blowing bubbles. The second one, called Full Volume Tokyo, represents a woman in Tokyo. At first, when you look from afar, they could almost look like paintings. However, when you zoom in, we can see pieces of newspapers and magazines glued together to form a collage. The message of the author could be that trash can have a second life and can be kept in a timeless creation.  

Doc 2: Tom Deininger

This artwork is a sculpture, a big 3D eye. It was made of recycled plastic and waste glued together to form an eye. The message of the artist is that we can make art out of nothing. He may be saying through his piece of art that we should stop polluting but we should use our waste to create art instead. Tom Deininger is a trash artist who exhibits mostly online.

Doc 3: Marina Debris

  

These two pieces of art were made by Marina Debris, an American “Trashion” artist (a portmanteau word made of “trash” and “fashion”). Her art represents pieces of clothing (hat, dress, skirt, gloves…) made out of waste materials such as chips packaging, plastic cutlery, lighters, bottles caps… this trash often ends up on beaches and in the oceans. She did not intend people to wear her art clothing. Her message could be to say that waste could be more useful than we think it is. Indeed, it can be reused.

To conclude, the artists have in common is that they all use waste or recycled materials to create their art. They chose to use these materials because we produce a lot of waste and it could be a good way to reuse them. Moreover, it is a good way to give our waste a second life.

Artist’s name	Derek Gores	Tom Deininger	Marina Debris
What the artist produces.	People’s portrait. He is a collage artist	He produces trash art	She produces “trashion”
What materials he / she uses	Mostly magazines cutouts and bits newspapers.	He uses recycled plastic and other types of waste.	She uses plastic waste (cutlery, bottle caps…) and chips packaging.
How he/she transforms those materials.	To make it more beautiful.	To give a second chance to trash.	To create original clothes and give trash a new life.
Where he/she exhibits.	In California	Mostly online	In California

 

Exhibiting in English will enable them to reach a broader and international audience. 

Homework: Learn the lesson.