Of Art and Junk

You're looking at a clock made out of old game pieces by Petaluma, California artist Poe Dismuke. I found it on an old (1997) website called "Hello Again" - "an exhibition of innovative and often surprising products created from recycled and reused materials." Though there are only seven examples shown, each offers unique testimony to the transformative power of play.

The more deeply I get into this whole Junkyard Sports adventure, the more delighted I get about the many connections between junk and, well, fun. Artists who make use of recycled materials must first of all make a creative leap, seeing beyond the original purposes and functions of their material, transcending the essential junkiness of it all, to give it new purpose and meaning. A leap like that requires the inspirational madness of a true player, of someone moved more by fun than by function.

This is only the tip of the junkly iceberg - and a vast iceberg it is. As visionaries show us how to transform junk into objects of art, kids all over the world are showing us how to convert it into objects of play. Clearly, for those of us who can find inspiration in a junk heap, there's a world of fun to be had.