Page 28 - April 2016

recycle, rePurPose, reinvenT
FLAGSTAFF ArTISTS CreATe “Green” ArT
ABOVE: inside one of John Rogers’ creations for the Recycled Art Exhibition at the Arts Connection in Flagstaff.
STory By
nikki charnsTroM
Fourteen years ago a tradition was created to educate and inform on the significance of repurposing and to bring a “think green” mentality into the art world. The Recycled Art Exhibition has left its mark in Flagstaff City Hall, the Coconino Center for the Arts, and The Hozhoni Art Gallery. This year The Artists Coalition of Flagstaff will host the event at their new gallery space, The Arts Connection within the Flagstaff Mall.
Unlike other events ACF hosts, all artists are welcome to participate in this exhibition without having to be a member. This encourages people in all walks of life with a variety of skill sets to submit an original piece, even those who wouldn’t describe themselves as an artist.
“we literally have artwork from 4-year-olds up to 80-year-olds,” says Mike Frankel, executive Director of ACF, “Really, it’s always a surprise ... it never ceases to amaze me, the creativity. It’s my personal favorite show of the year we put on because what shows up — we just never know. The creativity just knows no bounds.”
According to Mr. Frankel, the artwork may be completely functional or not at all, but it must be at least 80% recycled or found materials. The artists are also restricted from the use of electricity to power their piece but may use batteries, solar or wind. These guidelines are set to maintain the sustainability aspect of the exhibition.
Vintage kaleidoscope creator, participant and winner in past years, John Rogers repurposes transmission parts, pieces of vintage furniture, and scraps of stained glass. working out of his transmission shop on sixth Avenue, Trans-Mission Man, this artist has unlimited access to the parts he needs. “For me it’s like making toys. I’m a 67-year-old kid,” Mr. Rogers describes.
Contributor to the Mars Kaleidisphere at Lowell Observatory, it could be said Mr. Rogers has a fancy for the multi-colored illusion. This niche of his developed from a book his mother gave him called, The Kaleidoscope Book. After the gift sat on the shelf for about a decade, he decided to read through the pages. He experimented with his first kaleidoscope built out of recycled materials and the rest is history. He has continued creating artwork using repurposed objects over the years because of his collecting instincts and his whirlwind ideas. “I can’t shut my head up. Life is like that for me,” he says. Although he has been called a “hoarder,” he collects because he doesn’t want to become impeded by a lack of resources.
For the exhibit, Mr. Rogers plans to submit four pieces to show. Two of them will be clocks made from a candy dish, a rim from a car over 100 years old, brass coins and a flatbed. The other two will be kaleidoscopes, one in particular made from rusty gears and parts. He says he doesn’t go searching for the repurposed materials, but instead they find him.
“I like to see people smiling when they look at my work ... I like working with real antiques,” he concludes.
Mixed-media mosaic artist, Carrie Hartley now calls Flagstaff home since moving here last fall. This will be her first experience showing in the Recycled Art exhibition and plans to enter at least one piece.
“I am doing a 3-D piece for the show which is always harder because I have to cover more surface area than with my 2-D pieces. I came up with my idea quickly, but my art is made with found objects, so it takes time to acquire enough materials to complete,” Ms. Hartley explains.
Recycling is a way of giving objects a new life and a new purpose for this artist. It is all in looking at it through a new perspective and creating something with it.
“I love using things that are worn out, old, rusted, damaged and deemed no longer of value and turning them into art,” Ms. Hartley expresses. “I think of it as a kind of reincarnation of objects.”
Through this exhibit, she hopes to inspire change when it comes to discarding items and ultimately reduce the amount sent to the landfills.
Hozhoni Art Gallery, a gallery providing original works from an art program for adult artists with developmental disabilities, has been the host of this event for the past two years. The
Hozhoni program gives artists the resources to create, sell, exhibit and collaborate with other local artists. The artists involved come from diverse cultural backgrounds and are historically underrepresented in the mainstream commercial and native American art world.
“The Hozhoni Art Program always desires to look for chances to be included in the mainstream art scene. we want to show the community the unique talent these artists possess. with the Recycled Art exhibition being one of Flagstaff’s largest and most well known art events, we make it a point to join in every year,” says Rachel Greig, Hozhoni Art Gallery manager and art instructor. “It’s great for everybody because anyone who attends or participates in the show gets to see this type of art, and our artists get to see different manifestations of recycled art from fellow creatives in the community.”
All 25 artists will participate in the creation of a group piece to be submitted for this year’s show. Inspired by the work of American sculptor Louise nevelson, the artists are creating a mixed-media triptych wall sculpture. The recycled materials being used have been donated by the gallery clients and staff.
“we will encourage them all to take their energy and excitement about recycling home with them and sort through what can be recycled or reused for art,” Ms. Greig explains.
each artist works at their own speed, Ms. Greig says some found inspiration instantaneously and finished their portion of the sculpture in one afternoon while others used time as their guide throughout the process.
“It’s great to see them problem solve how to turn these recycled items into something else. This year, they are making various animals out of items like cooking implements, scraps of yarn, keyboard parts, a basketball and pieces of wood,” Ms. Greig describes.
This year’s awards will be created by local artist Tim Thomason, in the fashion of his glass towers he is known for. The exhibition is broken down into eight categories: Most Creative, Most Useful, Most Humorous, Best Use of Material, elegance, simplicity, Best of show and People’s Choice.
In this year’s show, Mr. Frankel hopes to reach more students and individuals who may have never encountered artwork such as this before. “The educational aspect is the best aspect of the show — very creative artwork showing them discarded trash can be repurposed into beautiful artwork,” he confirms.
An opening reception will be held on April 2 from 6-8PM with refreshments provided by Flagstaff’s Market of Dreams. ACF encourages all to attend this family-friendly event.
During the opening reception Ray Reeves will be performing three sets of his up-cycled one-man band act throughout the evening. Mr. Reeves will be playing a variety of music, and no two sets will be alike. He will be playing a homemade, recycled suitcase drum set, a wide selection of percussion instruments made from recycled materials, and even a guitar he rescued from a trash bin! The amplifier he’ll be plugged into is made by him as well — reconstructed out of old TV parts. If space permits he may also bring the bike taxi he made using an old pony cart!
Local artists and students combine their sense of fashion and commitment to be more“green” in a recycled fashion show called “Trash to Fash.” In Recycled Art exhibitions past audiences have seen couture creations, belly dance costumes (made from soda tabs and keys instead of coins) and prom wear.
The exhibition will be open to the public from April 2 to May 1 during their regular business hours, Monday through saturday 12-7PM and sundays 12-6PM. The Arts Connection gallery is located on the JCPenny side of the Flagstaff Mall, 4650 north Us Highway 89, Flagstaff. flagstaff-arts.org.
| nikki Charnstrom is exploring the wonders of film photography. arts@thenoise.us
28 • APRIL 2016 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us