Things thrown away are material for the creativity of modern artists. This type of art is called trash art, but recycled art, or upcycled art, carries with it deeper ecological thinking. Artists working in this genre do not consider themselves avant-garde artists who seek to change people’s understanding of art. They draw attention to environmental issues.
Boxes of monpensiers and chocolates, cartons of cheese curds, plastic and glass bottles of mineral water, tea, energy drinks, wine and beer, coffee cups, empty egg cartons, pills, washing powder and toothpaste – several hundred objects are placed in an orderly and sequential manner on the floor of the GES-2 House of Culture. All this rubbish became the most spectacular exhibit of the exhibition “Square and Space. From Malevich to GES-2”. In just a few seconds, the lights go out and all the boxes and bottles turn into high-rise buildings in the night city. The installation was called “Megapolis”. You can look for a long time at avenues, streets, business centres, shops, parks, banks and find something new in every detail.
All this rubbish turned into the most spectacular exhibition of the GES-2 House of Culture. Photo: Alexander Korolkov
The creator of the art object, Vladimir Seleznev, reminds us in such an unusual way that people are responsible for the well-being of the city. The artist assembled his city from the rubbish left by visitors to GES-2 and supplemented it with other objects, such as old lampshades. By the way, he first showed a similar work in 2009, but due to the growing interest he created it again and again in different cities.
However, to see this kind of art, it is not necessary to look for thematic exhibitions. You can look at an unusual art object, for example, in the window of a shop on Bolshaya Polyanka. The 62-meter-long panel made of recycled plastic is popular with passers-by and has served as a backdrop for photo shoots for the third year. The installation, called “Trolley Dream,” was assembled from 340 kg of ready-to-eat trays, discarded children’s toys and other waste. The result was huge fruits and vegetables, delicious food and mouths biting into it, cutlery and a trolley.
This genre is also interesting for young people. Students often participate in environmental exhibitions. This summer, students from the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Reengineering N 26 created a series of paintings from garbage and exhibited them at the Moscow Municipal Economy Museum at VDNKh. “Together with my team I created a work called “Household Waste”. The exhibition showed how important it is to abandon plastic in everyday life to save the world around us. In the process of preparation we studied many articles and studies on the problem of environmental pollution. Foam plastic, paints, screws, real household waste and wooden hands were used in the panels. Creativity is a great way to talk about environmental issues in an accessible way,” said first-year student Diana Tokhunts.
Things thrown away: material for the creativity of contemporary artists
Now all the works created by the students for the exhibition are sent for recycling.
However, not everyone shares the artists’ approach to combating environmental problems. “One of the main environmental problems highlighted in contemporary art is the pollution of large cities with garbage. But such installations look more like artistic jokes. I am not a fan of this genre, because the garbage still needs to be destroyed. The city should be shown as clean,” says Taisiya Volftrub, president of the Association of Landscape Architects of Russia and corresponding member of the International Academy of Architecture.
