Nothing Breaks, It Just Turns Into Art
One truth’s been running through my head lately, pacing through the attic of my mind.
"Nothing breaks, it just turns into art." It's a good reason to make all things beautiful. When they break, they won't just be works of art, but beautiful works of art.
Once I realized this truth, I kept seeing proof of it everywhere.
Everywhere #1: A friend of mine has decorated his entire apartment with old musical instruments. They may be worn and weathered, and definitely don't work, but it's a wonderful aesthetic.
Everywhere #2: I got a broken bullhorn speaker from an activist friend of mine. I still have ambitions to fix it someday (once I learn the 1,357 other things I need to learn, and get to #1,358, "soldering"). But until then, it hasn't broken...just turned into a work of art. It's slapped with all sorts of stickers, from many protests I was at myself, a memento from the field of battle. It feels like it should be in museum, but instead, it's in my living room, sitting in a place of honor on the top shelf.
Everywhere #3: Make & Mend is a secondhand art supplies store near me, in the neighborhood of Somerville. They really have it all...\the supplies you'd expect, from pens to paint to paper. And so many you wouldn't expect, like mystery sticker packs, and vintage Lite Brite machines. A thousand projects people wanted to start, but never did. It could have turned into trash, but instead they donated it, hoping it finds a new home. How beautiful is that?
All these everywheres inspired a new maxim of mine: "From now on, I'm only making art from trash." I'm not buying any new materials for making art. Instead, I'll just be using materials that are unwanted…whether they’re reclaimed, salvaged, unwanted, second-hand, etc.
Why? The short answer: our current form of society is a tumor upon the earth, consuming resources and creating waste with staggering speed, far faster than the planet can keep up with. If we want to survive for the next thousand years, we need to change this!
And yet, change is hard. We're addicted to certain patterns of consumption, patterns that are hard to break. Our system makes doing the right thing very hard, whether it's mending, repairing, or buying second-hand. I love living zero waste, but when it comes to things like bike safety or dental care, it can be hard to live 100% zero waste with any practicality.
But art? Art is not practical. If we want to start reducing, reusing, and repurposing more, let's start with where it's easiest. Art can be anything. Art can be trash, and trash can be art.
It's not about devaluing art...it's about revaluing trash.
That’s what’s been pacing through the attic of my mind. It’s getting a bit cramped up there, so I wanted to give it some fresh air, maybe a new home somewhere else…if you have any room!
