The Essence of Eco-Reverent Art for Topanga EarthDay

Posted by Tiff on May 30th, 2012 | 0 comments

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Art is one of the last avenues to turn green, probably because the predominant value in art is its appearance. It is a slippery slope I think, because it’s great to incorporate the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) or use natural materials, but let us not forget that art must still make a statement, inspire a feeling, do something to set it apart from the ordinary.

For the past few weeks I’ve been getting my art ready for a show at Topanga EarthDay, where I’m curating and showing some of my own eco-reverent art. When I set out to curate a few eco-minded artists for the first time, I found many who repurposed trash and such, but the majority didn’t look like anything special to me, just some junk glued together and put onto a pedestal. To me, it still looked like trash, without any thoughtful transformations. Some of these wouldn’t even be considered art if people weren’t trying so hard to market “green art.” I’d rather experience art that really moves me, and then learn the hidden environmental values as a bonus. Otherwise, we’re left with just ECO and no ART.

For my art, I’ve collected discarded frames from salvage yards, thrift shops, and even off the side of the street, because the most eco-friendly frame is one that is saved from a landfill. I clean it up, pop out the old picture, reframe my art into it, and repaint the frames to match my artworks. I started with my photography, because it was easier to match up smaller sizes, and that is the collection I’m mainly showing at Topanga. Check out the frame photos below for an idea of before and after.

Repurposing frames; the trashed neutrals on the left, and my brightly painted make-overs on the right!

Over the past few years, I’ve been painting a lot more, and I’ve made a few paintings that reflect this nature pop theme also. It only just recently occurred to me to start using repurposed frames for my paintings too, I don’t know why it took a while to carry over the idea, but it is a bit harder to find the right size of frames for my larger painted works. Below is the first painting I started using upcycled frames for; in this case extending the painting forms right onto the frame.

In doing this it feels to me like it’s not just repurposed materials, but it’s made even more special and unique because of it, and the collection itself is about revering the beauty of nature.

Attached is a flyer for the Topanga event, featuring myself and 4 other talented artists, whose artwork is either inspired by the beauty of our environment, and/or uses repurposed materials. For this Earth Day week, I encourage everyone to be open-minded and embrace the gamut of how eco art can be appreciated.

See this art at :
13^th Annual Topanga Earth Day
Saturday April 21st & Sunday 22nd, 2012
Topanga Community House Fair Grounds, Topanga Canyon, CA
10am – 6pm