The Green Art Project

October 28th, 2009

Antonio Gaudi often recycled broken dishes, glass, and tiles by incorporating them into his works. Photo via Flickr: Karynsig

I tend to think that art is inherently green — it doesn’t take a lot of materials to produce, can last for centuries, and doesn’t require any fossil fuels for you to enjoy it other than the metro ride or car trip it took you to get to the gallery or museum (well, unless you hop on a transatlantic flight to visit the Louvre). But if you can create art out of trash or other recycled materials and teach people about conservation at the same time, why the heck not?

I’ve spotted some pretty interesting eco art recently, from the fabulously kooky (The Mercedes Pens) to the slightly creepy (BananaBoyRoy) — though all of it creative, nonetheless. So I was pleased to hear about The Gr een Art Project website, which features green art for art’s sake as much as for the planet’s. My favorite part of the site, though, is the how-to art projects, which would be great to tackle on a rainy fall weekend with your kids.

The Green Art Project is pretty new, so I expect there will be more creative projects up in the months to come, but in the meantime, why not get cozy, order up a pizza, and then make a Pizza Box Portrait?

There’s been a lot of doom and gloom lately. Green art may not save the world, but it may provide the inspiration. (And at the very least, it’ll keep your kids away from the Xbox.)

–Jennifer Grayson