The other day I was at a festival downtown
perusing the many different tents that had set up shop for the day. I had
biscuits with mushroom gravy for the first time in my life (didn’t even know it
existed before then, really). I visited an old garage that had been turned into
rustic, artsy coffee shop.
It seemed like the place to find interesting
and unique things like those I saw early in the day, so I explored some more
and came across probably the coolest art I had seen in awhile.
It was cardboard art.
The artist seemed to have taken old cardboard
boxes of various sizes and painted cartoonish art reminiscent of street
graffiti on them. The style was very Invader Zim-esque, with a boxy style to
the lines (this was probably intentional). Another unique feature of the art
was the use of many “layers” to create a 3D effect. The main focus always
protruded from the background layer.
I was almost tempted to buy a piece because of
how unique it was. Everything was cleanly and professionally done. There were smaller
pieces that could be hung in an apartment or larger pieces for basements and
party rooms.
Perhaps the thing that interested me most,
though, was how familiar the medium was. Packaging supplies like cardboard
boxes boxes are everywhere in our daily lives, yet they seem to be something we
overlook. They’re almost entirely made for function with no other use, yet the
repurposing of them as art was just brilliant.
Maybe that was the message, though. We pass by
so many things in our daily lives and don’t stop to register what it is we use
all the time. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that are most brilliant. Pens,
pencils, and markers, for instance, are essential to our lives, yet if we had
no access to them but needed to write something down on paper, what would we
use to write with instead?
There are many other packaging supplies we
could think of that could be repurposed (even if it’s not art). Rubber bands
are useful for hundreds of at-home needs. Bubble wrap is almost more of an
entertainment than item for packaging and support. Packing tape is remembered
more for its distinct sound when being unraveled than its actual use.
What other everyday items can you think of
that elude your notice but are essential to productivity?