Assemblage Art:

Transforming Trash into Treasure

 By Marie Max

For students grade levels 9-12

    "When you put together things that other people have thrown out, you’re really bringing them to life – a spiritual life that surpasses the life for which they were originally created."

                                    Louise Nevelson

Art in the Classroom

Art teachers with limited budgets can produce a lesson plan that is engaging and filled with learning strategies and creativity, through re-inventing.

Assemblage

the function of discarded materials. Assemblage art is a term for using random or discarded objects to create sculptures that are socially, culturally, and personally indicative of one's environment. Students have the freedom to create abstractly by means of incorporating pre-existing and familiar objects that have some sort of previous significance. In a three-dimensional format, random items such as broken toys, used boxes, or old containers can be used to express a variety of statements that instill a curiosity for investigating an explanation. Due to its intent and obscurity, assemblage artists such as Louise Nevelson, Isaiah Zagar, and Phoebe Washburn create works that seem to speak for itself as a narrative piece.  

Louise Nevelson, Royal Tide I, 1960,

painted wood, 86 x 40 x 8 inches.

Collection of Peter and Beverly

Lipman. © Estate of Louise Nevelson

/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Photo by Sheldan C. Collins.

This style has, since that time, been powerful

and popular, but limited in its application in

the art room until the more recent years.

Nevelson did not focus on gender and culture

but rather on recycling objects into art pieces

of interest. It is believed that, perhaps, this

may be a reason for the lack of interest in this

style of assemblage art between the 1980s

and 1990s (Smyth, 2009).

 
Isaiah Zagar,  Sanctuary Sculpture. Philadelphia Magic Gardens by assembling mosaic structures. By maintaining the idea of recycling discarded material, he creatively applied broken pieces of ceramics, mirrors, and other items to the facades of run-down buildings in his neighborhood. These facades became perceived as works of art and were aesthetically appreciated and revered by the local community.
The PMG workshop is a community-based organization that educates students and teachers on cultural and historical influences in the mosaic assemblage art form and the creation of "green" spaces through the reuse of materials. He heads the Philadelphia's Magic Gardens (PMG), a mosaic sculpture garden created with recycled materials. It is a now preserved section in the South Street region of the city. PMG has a civic outreach program involving a community-oriented revitalization, and art education programs (Zagar, 2009

Assemblage art is also constructed with other

forms of recycled materials, such as cardboard,

junk mail, and newspapers. Phoebe Washburn

is a contemporary artist who is best known for

creating architectural ecosystems from

recyclable trash (Greben, 2009). She recycles

discarded cardboard, plastic, wood, and more.

Assembled and displayed in large areas,

Washburn's enormous installations usually

intertwine plant life with the mass amounts of

discarded items to create a complex

environmental eco-system. Her preference is

to collect materials from dumpsters, loading

docks, and as well as organic life (Greben, 2009).

Washburn's enormous structures are usually

temporary due to the fact that she recycles her

old installations into new ones. According to

Greben (2009), she is inspired to create an

environment that has "consumed its

by-products" (p. 102). Washburn manipulates

the existence of products that have had a

previous function and re-invents their use

so they tell their own story.

Goals

Students will create narrative sculptures from discarded materials.


Essential Questions

•    How can the term 'trash' be reinvented to become 'treasure' when it is recycled into an art piece?

•    Can assemblage art successfully be an aesthetic narrative of society, personality, or culture?

•    How?

Studio Application

Students are to express their ideas by

creating an art piece by means of re-designing

the use of the shapes and re-inventing them

collectively into one independent structure.

They will explore the positive effects of

utilizing discarded objects that reflect their

personality, culture, or environment. Ask

them to think about what is important to them

and what they treasure. Help them to consider

the objects' previous function, pre-existing

characteristics, and possible spatial interplay.

Discuss ways to transform objects that were

discarded into a new function as with multiple

topics.

Transforming Trash in to Treasure

Objectives

Students will:

a.    Select recycled items to produce a theme or narration.

b.    Design a layout plan of the sculpture and support.

c.    Construct and assemble sculptures.

d.    Create a narrative assemblage sculpture

Procedure

     1.     Gather discarded objects, such as old articles of clothing, broken toys, and utensils.

     2.     Discuss their origin and the intention or function: What might they have been used for? What were the objects symbolic of?

     3.     Help students design a layout and base support. Encourage them to think about layers, horizontal and vertical, or relief surfaces, such as a mosaic or bas-relief.   

     4.     Assemble selected objects together with glue, found wire (plastic or metal, such as twist-ties), etc. Or, if available, non-bake clay   and plaster-of-Paris provide for a sturdy and secure attachment process.
     5.    Attach sculpture to base.

Evaluation

1)    Students and teacher will engage in a group critique of completed assemblage sculptures, discussing the elements of art and design and aesthetic intent.

2)    The students will fill out a self-evaluation sheet asking the following questions:

•    What was the benefit of using  discarded and recycled materials?

•    How did the objects change or transform from their pre-existing function into their new one?

•    How do the individual objects function together as a united whole in their reinvention?

•    What Art Elements were incorporated into the art pieces?

•    Were the objects successfully transformed from 'trash' into 'treasure'?

•    How?

Suggested Materials and Resources:

•    Grocery stores: boxes, unused styro-foam food trays
•    Beverage outlets: crates, boxes
•    Hardware stores: miscellaneous hardware scraps
•    Framing centers: mat board end cuts, old frames
•    Home improvement centers: discarded paint cans, old

      wallpaper books, wood scraps

•    Craft, mirror, and plexi-glass suppliers and warehouses:   

      broken, scratched, or miscellaneous pieces

References:

Greben, Deidre, (2009, November).  Slikwiks, pennyworts, and sea urchins. Artnews, pp. 100-105.
Nevelson, Louise, (1960) The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a legend. (2007) Retrieved November 29, 2009 from the Resource Library Web site: http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/7aa/7aa729.htm     
Nevelson, Louise, (n.d.) Retrieved November 20, 2009 from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Berliawsky_Nevelson
Smyth, C., (2009, June). Louise Nevelson: Dawns and dusks: Louise Blouin foundation, London [Exhibit]. Art Monthly, 327. pp. 30-1.
Washburn, P., (2004) Retrieved December 3, 2009 from Institute of Contemporary Art Web site:  http://www.icaphila.org/exhibitions/washburn.php
Washburn, P., (2005) Retrieved November 25, 2009 from db artmag Web site: http://www.dbartmag.de/2007/3/e/1/544.php
Washburn, P., (2005). Retrieved November 25, 2009 from the Whitney Museum Web site: http://whitney.org/www/2008biennal/www/?section=artists&page=artistwashburn#fullcredit
Zagar, Isaiah, (2009). Retrieved October 20, 2009 from http://www.phillymagicgardens.org/gallery.php?ContentID=4&SubCont    entID=30&GalleryID=1