Summer 2008 I was involved with the Re-Art program at the Teva Mountain Games. My buddy Ben and I gathered items from the Denver dump, the side of the road, crags, and more than one friends garage to created a recycled art mural. People were digging on this experience and we had a great time interacting with the public as we grinded, cut, blow-torched, and fused our masterpiece together. It was then auctioned in chunks to raise funds for The Alpine Conservation Partnership.
Afterwards I received many calls for fun, similar projects. People were PSYCHED! Rossignol Ski company had me do two pieces based on their logo, the rooster, and their history as a 100 year old company.
There is a lot of freedom in the process of recycled pieces- working with what you have, and reclaiming what was considered trash. Beyond the statement of recycling the discarded, there is the process interaction with the medium which causes moments of pause. When I am cutting a discarded piece of wood, or steel, ski poles, or climbing rope, I try to think of the life this material has had thus far, and how it’s end-story could have been different if I hadn’t rescued it. By becoming “art” it has life anew, and is now hanging on someones wall, being enjoyed daily. It has new purpose.
