Junk Art
In and around the 20th century, junk art was part of the modernist revolt against the use of traditional materials in fine art and the idea that "art" can be made out of anything. Artists took advantage of this idea by creating sculptures, assemblage, combined paintings/sculptures, and installations of unusual objects and materials. Exemplified by the works of 1950's artist Richard Rauschenberg, the name "junk art" was made by British art critic Lawrence Alloway. In 1961, to describe artworks made of scrap metal, broken machinery, timber, or other waste materials, the term "junk art" was determined. As it can be traced back to early 20th century art by Picasso, Duchamp, and Schwitters, junk art is known to have analogies in Dada, the works of Alberto Burri (1915-95) and later Arte Povera artists from Italy and Spanish artists like Antoni Tapies were involved in the movement and technique.
The first junk artists was officially Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968). He began to create works of art , mostly sculptures, from trash and other urban waste products. His great specialty was the "ready-made" work of art. It included a mass production article, chosen arbitrarily, represented as a work of art. Examples of readymades by Duchamp include "Bicycle Wheel", "In Advance of the Broken Arm", and "Fountain". Another pioneer junk artist was Dadaist Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948), whose contribution to modern art was his "Merzbau", an intricate mixed media sculpture featuring creation from paper, cardboard, and other rubbish that could be found at every corner of his own home. Cubist collages created by Pablon Picasso (1881-1973) and Georges Braque (1882-1963) during the Synthetic Cubism phase, were another precursor to junk art.
In Advance of the Broken Arm
By Marcel Duchamp
Bicycle Wheel
By Marcel Duchamp
Merzbau
By: Kurt Schwitters
The popularity of what is now seen as a kind of contemporary art with a modern sense of aesthetics is so great that these junk objects are beginning to appear in various types of art forms and techniques including painting, sculpture, assemblage, installation, and conceptual art.
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