Artist Builds Funky Bulls Made From Recycled Chairs Tossed Out By College Students

Posted By Tafline Laylin On May 11, 2011 @ 11:59 am In Uncategorized | No Comments

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Hundreds of perfectly useful items are tossed into the dump ^[6] at the end of every school year, so Hongtao Zhou ^[7] picks them back out and turns them into these crazy bulls. Arm chairs and legs that might have rotted are instead turned into powerful art pieces ^[8]. Why bulls? To Zhou, they are emblematic of the materialistic cowboy culture that others seek to emulate at the expense of our environment.

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Wrapped with throwaway belts, these pieces also represent our treatment of animals and overall social condition. The artist admires the material freedom and plenty of American culture, but expresses dismay at rainforest and species extinction, massive landfills ^[10] and garbage patches, CO2 emissions and ice cover shrinkage caused as a result.

Currently on exhibit at the Memorial Union Porter Butts Gallery ^[11] in Madison, Wisconsin, these pieces are designed to draw attention to our destructive tendencies. Ironically, by upcycling a discarded material ^[12] in such a creative and striking way, Zhou also shows the other side of humanity –  one that is beautiful, nurturing, and thoughtful.

+ Hongtao Zhou ^[7]

Article printed from Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building: http://inhabitat.com

URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/artist-builds-funky-bulls-made-from-recycled-chairs-tossed-out-by-college-students/

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[1] Tweet: http://twitter.com/share

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[3] Email: mailto:?subject=http://inhabitat.com/artist-builds-funky-bulls-made-from-recycled-chairs-tossed-out-by-college-students/

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[5]  : http://inhabitat.com/artist-builds-funky-bulls-made-from-recycled-chairs-tossed-out-by-college-students/zhou-bull-recycled-chair-3/?extend=1

[6] tossed into the dump: http://inhabitat.com/worlds-largest-landfill-transformed-into-freshkills-park-3x-the-size-of-central-park/

[7] Hongtao Zhou: http://hongtaozhou.com/

[8] powerful art pieces: http://inhabitat.com/toylit-turns-used-porta-potties-into-glowing-artpieces/

[9] Image: http://inhabitat.com/artist-builds-funky-bulls-made-from-recycled-chairs-tossed-out-by-college-students/zhou-bull-recycled-chair-3/

[10] massive landfills: http://inhabitat.com/massachusetts-town-turns-landfill-into-largest-solar-array-in-new-england/

[11] Memorial Union Porter Butts Gallery: http://www.union.wisc.edu/wud/art-events.htm

[12] upcycling a discarded material: http://inhabitat.com/reclaimed-garbage-transformed-into-unique-sculptures/

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