At first glance Tom Deininger’s artwork may look like a two dimensional painting, but take a closer look and discover layers of discarded objects transformed into a piece of fine art.
Scraps of packaging, Barbie doll limbs, and electronic waste are just a few examples of “junk” that Deininger incorporates in his pieces. Deininger says he never has a difficult time finding materials for his artwork because discarded objects are everywhere! He thoroughly enjoys dumpster diving and the collection process.
Deininger says he is inspired by “art, value, and beauty in different contexts and how these things all interact to define one another”.
Watch his art take shape below!
In addition to being a contemporary artist, Deininger is also an environmentalist. He is concerned about what humans do to threaten the condition of the planet. He hopes his art will draw attention to consumption habits.
His artwork is inspired by the experiences he had while traveling the world in college. He starting incorporating used objects in his work as a response to observations he made in developing countries. He noticed “they were starting to adopt the consumption habits (use for short time through away) that the U.S. has been practicing for decades now”.
He likes to “picture the designers of a certain object realizing that this thing they made works perfectly for something else completely (no matter how trivial it may be); a detail on a face, a branch, etc”. Deininger compares his re-appropriation of everyday objects to evolution in nature. He explains, “Sometimes the perfect design is by accident but always makes sense after we see it. Then we discover nature had worked that out a million years ago”.
Check out Tom Deininger’s website to view more of his amazing work.
