Special Topic Music & the Art of Creative Recycling

Landfill Harmonic

In my research for 'Education for Sustainability' (in the context of Art & Creativity), I came across the 'Landfill Harmonic', which started in Paraguay, South America, with a small group of people living by a landfill. Through creative thinking these people took initiative and were able to create musical instruments using rubbish from that landfill. In part they made 'new' pieces (sometimes by recycling pallet wood), to complete an entire instrument.

Sourced from: 

http://bloggeritis.com/2013/01/01/spread-the-word-about-these-kids-and-their-recycled-orchestra/

Sourced from: 

http://brenda-chapman.com/blog/landfill-harmonic-the-movie-trailer-that-might-make-you-cry/

Sourced from: 

http://www.emergentstructures.org/insights/landfill-harmonic/

Here is a short youtube clip well worth watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJxxdQox7n0&feature=endscreen

What can I say after watching this video clip? 

To me, it really addresses the important points: Inspiration, recycling, a way of making the best of what there is in one's life, 'things' don't happen over night, it educates, shows how creative/artistic innovation (thinking and action) can reap wonderful results. 

What I can definitely say is that this story is very inspirational and heartwarming. 

As mentioned in this short film, Landfill Harmonic toured Europe and I am sure it made a lot of people who saw them perform think about what we do take for granted and what we throw out, often without much thought. The Landfill Harmonic is educating people through their music about more than environmental issues.

In my teaching context:

Again - if I end up having any students in my Art & Creativity class who are musicians, I will mention this video clip and give them the link it if they are interested to see it. That is one way I can share (educate) sustainable, creative ideas.


A bit more on the subject through Google research:

I then looked through Google to see if there are other people using 'garbage' to create musical instruments but there really doesn't seem to be that many at all. I will add some pictures of what I've found: 

Mini tin can drums: 

Sourced from: 

http://www.makeandtakes.com/earth-day-craft-challenge

Bottles filled with water: 

Sourced from: 

http://recyclingwastepoland.blogspot.co.nz/2008/11/new-musical-instruments-from-recycled.html

Rattle made from recycled bottle tops: 

Sourced from:

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Musical-Instruments-with-Recycled-Materials/4932143

And a couple of sculptural, functional art pieces made from recycling instruments:

Water feature :

Sourced from: 

http://www.gobc.ca/comox-valley-travel/douglas-walker-waterworks-garden-sculpture_933

Artist: Douglas Walker

And a lamp made from recycled instrument:

Sourced from:

http://thechronicleherald.ca/homesnews/116408-garden-art-adds-new-dimension

And - even so it is not making an instrument out of recycled materials but - being a well known singer - why not use a couple of empty aluminium cans to adorn ones hair or maybe they are a replacement for hair-curlers? Recycling might have just become fashionable :-)

'Lady Gaga': 

Sourced from:
http://inspirationgreen.com/aluminium-can-construction.html

At this point, my 'Education for Sustainability' blog concludes with this post.

As an independent Artist and facilitator for Art & Creativity, my research has been really inspiring to find ways to introduce different materials in my personal art practice and also for using this knowledge in my teaching context.


What I've learned through studying Education for Sustainability and extending this into a Special Topic, in the context of Art & Creativity:

1.     That there are quite a few artists in this World already using discarded materials in their (sustainable) art practice.

2.     That the choice of materials being used in the context of recycling, art and sustainability seem to be predominantly: aluminium items (or similar material like tin or iron), plastic objects, glass bottles and discarded tires.

3.     That art & creative initiatives, using recycled materials, are predominantely found in areas of: functional and / or decorative artwork, sculptural (3D), which includes fashion; 2D, architecture (building) and music (instruments).

4.     That using discarded materials to create artwork is sustainable while humanity keeps creating such a vast amount of trash.

5.     That some of the documented sustainable art, due to its (application of) physicality, might be limited to the younger generation (e.g. pounding earth with sledgehammers into tires, in this case for building purposes - architectural art).

6.     That hardly any of my students are interested in recycling and sustainable art practice.

7.     That publicly exhibited artworks created by using recycled materials inevitably raise questions in the viewer in regards to sustainability, environmental and economical issues.