Found, Scavenged and Upcycled
Raw + Material = Art. A statement of intent and a way of creation. Author Tristan Manco has compiled a list of artist who reuse, remake and recontextualise materials in their pursuit of their sustainable artistic visions.
Split into six separate sections, Raw + Material = Art feels immediately like an encyclopaedia. But as you read, you discover that this sectioning is just a simple way of grouping artists by surname. The seemingly arbitrary choice to tab the pages, just like a dictionary, reflects the theme of the entire book – nothing as it seems.
The artists featured share no common agenda, no similar modus operandi, except for one; they are, as Manco calls them, “champions of the handmade”. Artworks featured range from the most delicate paper sculptures to the largest public installations. They shun virtual tools and revert to the days of the tangible – some artists perfect old techniques, some bring those old techniques to modern-day scenarios, and some even create entirely new ways of tactile artistic expression.
A spirit of investigation permeates each of these works. On occasion, some become quite tongue-in-cheek, even slightly absurd. But through all the experimentation, each artist’s purpose is giving a new purpose to his or her materials – the universal aim of recycling. A perfect example sits directly in front of us. The inside cover features a colourful wooden apple. However, nothing is as it seems in Manco’s world. The apple is actually made of recycled skateboards by Japanese skateboarding enthusiast and artist Haroshi; remade into a new context and for a new purpose, yet keeping the same spirit and charm of the original material.
Manco critiques each of his chosen artists in depth, and therein lies the power of this book. One may view the images and enjoy trying to pick which materials have been used and in what way; but Manco contextualises each artist’s work in its social and cultural space, and gives the artworks a real depth of meaning.
Manco calls each of these works “tangible, tactile and well-crafted”. Add to this the ‘upcycled’ nature of all the materials used, and you will find that Manco has created an epic salute to sustainable art creation.
