If you can paint with it, paint on it, sculpt it, or in any way configure it into an image, someone has probably already done so. At times inspiring and at times revolting (the woman who paints with vomit seemed a little too extreme for me), strange and weird media are being used by artists to create both interesting art and interesting discussions about what art can be. The list below piqued my curiosity about how such items could be used and what the results would look like. Which ones intrique you enough to follow through to the image? (Click on the link within each item to see what the artists have created and to read about their reaons why!)
Pantone® Swatches
British graphic desginer David Marsh recreates iconic album cover art using Pantone® swatches – interesting results for Nirvana’s 1991 album “Nevermind,” Patti Smith, U2… many favorites.
Bacteria
Zachary Copfer developed a photographic process that uses bacteria in a petri dish as the emulsion. Don’t worry, the photos are irradiated when finished to kill the bacteria and placed under a layer of acrylic for display.
Chewing Gum
Italian artist Maurizio Savini creates sculptures out of chewing gum. Unchewed. The pink artwork is supported on fiberglass frames, and has been exhibited all over the world.
Hands
Turning the tables on the hand creating the art, Guido Daniele uses hands themselves as the canvas to create amazing images. Daniele, an artist working in Milan, is famous for his technique of body painting, and his images are used in advertising, commercials, fashion events and art exhibitions.
Blood
Dr. Rev Mayers, an Australian tattoo artist, has created artwork done completely in his own blood.
Rat Poison Packaging
American artist Jason Clay Lewis uses d-CON rat poison and its yellow packaging to create three dimensional works of art.
Ants
Chris Trueman used over 200,000 ants to create ‘Self-Portrait With Gun’, an art work that has had offers of over $35,000.
Human Ashes
Val Thompson mixes the the ashes of a cremated body into her paint to add texture to a memorial painting. Her business is called “Ash 2 Art.”
Toast
New Zealand-based artist Maurice Bennett converts ordinary slices of toast into art. The images and portraits are striking.
As it turns out, MANY artists have been inspired to create artwork from food –– you can check out an interesting list of such ventures here. This is not a new trend.: in the 1500s, Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo created portraits by forming collages of fruits and vegetables and then painting them onto his canvas.
And on a less savory note – someone, somewhere is using or has used just about every fluid the body can produce as media for their artwork. They are also using just about every body part as their brush (We’re not including the link on this one, but you can use your imagination and google what you decide on).
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