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Junk Metal Art Projects

Junk artists create objects from trash or other disposable materials (like junk mail). Junk art is a specific subsection of found art, which simply means art made from previously made objects found by the artist.



Many people today make imaginative objects by assembling found trash items. Sometimes this movement is indicative of ecological consciousness--the artist reuses materials instead of using up new items. However, junk art also has roots in fine art movements, like Arte Povera in Italy and the Young British Artists of the 1990s.
  1. Sculpture

    • Junk metal sculptures are common art projects, both among professional and amateur artists. Several post-war sculptors like Mark di Suvero create large-scale works by assembling factory-made metal objects into elegant and abstract compositions.

      Junk metal sculptures are fun projects for anybody, as demonstrated by an Illinois high school whose students made a junk metal version of the famed disco band the Village People.

    Computer Part Animals

    • Often thrown away once they're obsolete, old metal computer parts are plentiful and frequently turned into art objects. Several junk artists, like Mario Calcedo Langer, create toys and animal figures by joining together junk computer parts--in one of Langer's works, for example, a computer mouse becomes the body of a scorpion and metal clips and wires become pincers.

    Birdhouse

    • Junk metal is also an attractive material for yard objects like birdhouses. It doesn't matter if the yard decoration gets worn and rusty--after all, junk metal is already old and rusty. You can make a birdhouse out of an old gas can. Screw on a roof of flat metal plates. Old ceiling tiles are another attractive option.

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