Out of all the fantastic pieces, master filmmakers, and truly unique ideas I’ve gotten to experience this semester; Bill Morrison has had the most impact on me. Specifically his video ‘Light is Calling’. I’ve gone through a few recycle art pieces and artists now, but Morrison sits on an entirely separate level from the rest. His use of materiality is just astounding, mesmerising even. It immediately evolves the base film into so much more than what it was to begin with. It turns an old archive film into a fading memory, a memento of a time long past; barely holding onto the future. it’s an eight minute video with more depth than most blockbuster movies do now. A lot can be learned about portraying messages and ideas just from Light is Calling, let alone the rest of his filmography.

There is an immediate provocation of existentialism within me when I watch it, an inert feeling of dread almost. I have mentioned previously a multitude of times that I am heavily inspired by Cosmic-Horror. I think this nails that concept on the head. Cosmic-Horror is mostly interpreted as ‘space horror’ or about narratives of isolation with super-natural motif’s. It is far more than that. the full scope of it is the exploration of the ‘unknowable’, a delving into the primordial fears of man. Death is one of those fears. Of course there is a fantastical element to Cosmic-Horror, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be filled by a creature or location, it just needs to be in the idea. And a fading memory stuck between comprehension and forgotten memory fits this perfectly. An overwhelming sense of Existentialism. The fear of being forgotten.

It does fit the prompt for my research, but I am going to change the name of it. After looking through all these artists I believe a better term is ‘Reiteration Art’. I’ve found that the the themes and ideas of the materials used when making art from reclaimed things don’t go away. They merely enhance what was already there, evolving it; when in juxtaposition with the new intentions.

The last decade has seen the United Kingdom face an unprecedented rise in Knife related crimes and assaults, as far as I currently understand. I was reminded before about an artwork created only a few years ago to raise awareness to this issue. The sculpture is dubbed ‘Knife Angel’. It was created by Alfie Bradley. The knifes were gathered from knife reclamation bins that were set up by UK police.

There is something poetic about an angel being created from the tools of death and violence. ironic in an unfunny way. These instruments could have been used to destroy many peoples lives, some may have already done so. Now they are unable to do so, distorted into something better. A symbol against the very purpose they were created for. The reason for the sculptures creation is clear enough, it’s overwhelming condemnation of the perpetual violence that is happening. In the future I hope that it will serve as a beacon and symbol of when times changed. similarly to the twentieth century tech-punk music that I’ve explored into, this too is the result of an overabundance. IT’s a surprisingly common conclusion I keep coming too. A lot of the things are only possible to be made when there is too much of something, technology, weapons, space, etc. or is it just another form of progressive consumerism, disguised under the veil of purpose. I think not with Knife Angel.

The further I research and try to define what I mean by Recycle Art, the broader the concept becomes. I’m starting to reconsider the phrasing for what I initially meant. Because I think recycle might not have the depth I am trying to discover. It’s merely just the process that is used to get to what I am beginning to understand. I’m not looking for processes, but results and impact.

I have a very large passion for music. When I was younger I was pulled into that ‘Dudes only listen to rock’ mentality, but that changed mid high school for me. I near suddenly just wanted to listen and experience as much as I could; similar to how I’ve always been with film. I’ve always had a fascination with most things actually, there’s a lot to appreciate about a lot of things. A keen interest I’ve developed is the niche of people creating music using things that aren’t instruments, specifically with late twentieth century technology. There’s just something very cyberpunk about it, makes me feel like we are living in the future. Recently I discovered a YouTube channel that creates cover’s of famous songs using hard-disks and floppy readers. And it doesn’t even sound that bad.

The creator (Paweł Zadrożniak) dubs the machine ‘The Floppotron’, and I can not think of a more deserving name. Thematically this is similar to what ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS! does with Cathode Ray Televisions. I think I can make a lot of similar conclusions that applied to their blog post too. The over abundance of goods that society has seen with its rise in consumerism is what has made projects like this possible. People move on to what is newer, faster, better in cycles of two to five years. After a while the remnants of previous decades pile up. IT’s good that they aren’t just wasting away in some landfill, polluting the environment with the degradation of their parts. I’m hoping to see more things like The Floppotron become more prevalent in the next few decades. Culture is starting to shift into being very conscious about our impact on the world, projects like these are in direct response to this. Even if the intention was purely just to make it for fun, it wouldn’t have occurred without these factors all pushing the creator in that direction.

On a last note, I would love to see music created from all these machines used to create film scores for more tech noir based films or even a knew Tron film. I think it would really elevate the themes of technology and who society interacts with it.

I’ve been thinking over what I want to discuss in terms of ‘recycle art’, and the boundaries I set on myself. I’ve found that I tend to always steer towards odd musical instruments when looking for something interesting. Conceptually I’ve been looking at objects being recycled, but I want to expand outwards from that. Treating Recycling as broadly as possible, though it may shift more into the field of repurposing.

I also just want an excuse to talk about interesting things I’ve found online.

A few weeks ago i stumbled across this educational video about a piece of art created in the Great Salt Lake (Utah). It was about a jetty made of stone and rocks, formed into the shape of a spiral. The comment section was full of disgruntled and bored architecture/arts students, having been sent there to the video for homework. But my fascination was immediate. I mean what was he trying to say, if anything at all. Could it be a reactionary statement to art exhibitions, or is it more than that. In terms of my research prompt I am using it in the context of recycling space. Giving meaning to a place that is barren and without meaning. The field of art it falls under is called ‘Land Art’, that being art built into the land. The concept isn’t even new either. Humans have been making Land Art for thousands of years. The best example I can think of is the Nazca lines in Peru.

I think there is something very special with bringing meaning to the meaningless. It’s almost like birthing life from nothingness, in a way. Knowing that these art pieces are going to be around for millennia to come, eventually losing their meaning; yet still drawing people to them. The Spiral Jetty is more than just recycling space to me, I think it’s more an example of exercising our base reason to create:

Simply because we can.