CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Students turn waste into art

The Tartan Online: "Plastic grocery bags have gotten a bad rap in today’s green-conscious society. But what if your average Giant Eagle grocery carrier could be a building block in the creation of a space? Is it possible for waste to be transformed into an enjoyable environment? These questions are answered in the Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) installation, aptly titled LDPE Loop, created by four Carnegie Mellon fourth-year architecture students: Filip Agren, Max Arocena, Conor Doyle, and Liz Duray."

5 comments:

AllisonWeston said...

Every time I see an artistic piece turning waste into art, I am reminded of Robert Rauschenberg. Rauschenberg, an assemblage artist of the 1950s, took the New York City trash he found in the gutter and combining it with other found objects created compelling visual stories. Not only is it a statement of re-use but also of an initiative to be environmentally conscious, a real trend these days. If any of you have a chance to go to Los Angeles any time soon, LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, has a tupperware tower installation, very similar in concept to this article. Now if only we could find more ways to make waste functional, then that would really be something.

Unknown said...

I'm really excited about all the new eco-friendly or environmentally conscious art that is emerging around campus by architecture students recently, walking around the UC I've seen art work with recycled plastic bottles and more and its really great that our campus community participates in being so proactive and vocal through such mediums as art. especially since now we are doing our own installation pieces, its interesting to see how artists such as these architecture students are using specific spaces and harmonizing the natural light in these areas with their materials (i.e the translucent plastic bags) to create something beautiful

Hjohnson said...

This sounds like something designers from SOD could get on board with. This definitely adds a more exciting aspect to recycling. I would like to experience some of these installations; I'm most interested in installation pieces that interact with the audience, rather than pieces that simply surround the observer.

Unknown said...

I appreciate the effort that these students are making. However, getting materials the way they did was inefficient. If they go to a landfill, then they can get a lot of things at once. Some may argue that, once you have them all in one place like that, why not just recycle them instead; although, I'm all for this.

Rachel Robinson said...

I think it's great that art can be made by using anything, and I sometimes prefer art like this that has been crafted out of materials most people wouldn't think to use. I think it shows an extraordinary amount of creativity on the part of the artist