Artist Statement - Aaron Johnson

In my advanced art class, my teacher Mrs. Hull assigned a project where students had to recycle everyday materials and use them in a creative way. Our class was inspired by the artist Aurora Robson, who used bottle caps to create unique sculptures. She used her creativity not only to make something interesting and unique, but also to create something environmentally friendly. Our art class wanted to produce something that was not only imaginative, but that also did something positive for the environment.

For my first quarter art project, I decided to make a picture frame with a picture inside of it. The picture frame itself is made out of an Abercrombie and Fitch shopping bag, while the inside of the frame is made out of the tissue paper used to cover the inside of presents. People are always recycling bags, so I wanted to do something different and recycle tissue paper. The inside of the picture frame is a picture of how the earth will look if we don't recycle: empty and ruined. I constructed the globe by cutting up the bottom of several water bottles and then taping them all together, making a somewhat round figure or sphere. 

The tissue paper in the project is around the globe and is supposed to represent the space. The tissue paper is loose and colorful, and even though space is dark, I wanted it to be bright and colorful, to show a contrast between it and the darkness of the earth in a non-recycled future. Basically I switched the roles so the earth is dark and dismal, while space is colorful and vibrant. 

Overall I very much enjoyed working on this art project. I try to be as environmentally friendly as possible and creating this picture frame was a way to incorporate school work and the environment.