I have come by a lot of artists who have used tires as a focal medium in there artwork. You never think of tires as art or as something that would make a lot of waste in our world. But think about the amount of cars you see on the roads, you have trucks, motorcycles, vans, dirt bikes, ATV’s, etc. There are so many transportation vehicles that use tires. Now think, you don’t just use one set of tires your entire life. Tires wear down and lose there tread therefore they need replaced. Well what happens to the old tires? As far as I can think there must be a way you can melt them down or recycle them, and I know there are some companies that will collect your old tires and recycle them for various purposes.
An artist from Belgium had a different idea. Wim Delvoye decided he would use the “dead” tire to create sculptures. He looked at nature for inspiration while carving intricate flower and vine designs within the circular form of the tire. He creates a juxtaposition showing the delicate beauty of “Mother Earth” to the industrial manufacturing of the tire itself. You can see this push and pull of sustainability and environmentalism in his work where he first addresses that he is reusing the material to secondly his iconography of the natural landscape.
He uses no mechanical processes to carve into the tires. He strips himself of the mechanical, industrial mechanisms that our society is so focused on.
-
- Tire By Wim Delvoye
-
- Tire By Wim Delvoye
-
- Tire By Wim Delvoye
-
- Tire By Wim Delvoye
Work Cited:
Its Not Easy Being Green 