From the dump...

Materials: Pistachio shells, tar paper, tissue paper, paper mache

What are the materials needed to create art?
 
Some would say you need sophisticated easels, canvases, and paint to create art. But the Masters, at least some of them, did not always use these materials.  For example, a very famous Picasso sculpture – “The She Goat” (1950) is made entirely of materials Picasso found in a garbage dump.  From the basket he used for the rib cage to the ceramic flower pots he used for the udders, and various pieces of metals, all found in the garbage dump close to his home, he used to create the sculpture he later bronzed.
 
Creatively takes play.  And just a guess, but I bet Picasso walked daily in the dump to find things he could create with…such as the bicycle seat and handle bars that became “Bull’s Head” (1942) which he welded together.  In 1944 when the visitors to his show at the Salon d’Automne in Paris saw his exhibit, they were shocked to see these found objects repurposed as art. 
 
A powerful message can be made by using materials that others cast off as garbage.  A message the material possessions we use in our culture which we think of only one purpose, can be repurposed, can be reused, can be recycled into art.  Art that carries a message beyond aesthetics can also be very aesthetically pleasing.

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