The Art Club of Percy Julian Middle School created “Upcycled Art” by re-using and re-purposing such items as rubber bands, drywall tape, steel wool, copper plumbing strapping, melted crayons, and electrical wire. Students constructed and wove panels using these materials, and placed within the window frames at the entrance to the Commons as a non-permanent, site specific installation.
Upcycling is the act of creating works of art by re-using or re-purposing every-day items, showing the beauty in even the most mundane of things. Creating something from nothing! Upcycling should not be confused with recycling. Recycling is the process where materials are diverted from the landfill and broken down into their fundamental parts to be rebuilt through industrial processes into another plastic water bottle, another plastic bag, recycled cardboard, etc. Upcycling, however, takes a material as-is and then utilizes it in a new form or medium, sometimes in a capacity starkly different from its original intention.
See our slideshow of photos here.