The artists featured here have converted everyday trash items into pieces of contemporary art. This process, which some call “upcycling,” is pretty popular among contemporary artists these days. I’ve found a zillion beautiful and creative examples of upcycling; so I’ll be posting what I’ve found over the next few weeks. This is just a sample…

Tim Nobel & Sue Webster

Tim and Sue collect trash from the streets of London and position the items in a way that creates surprising silhouettes.

Vik Muniz

Muniz arranges his collages, takes a picture of the completed work, and then destroys the original piece so that only the photograph remains.

Bernard Pras

Pras, a French artist who spent his childhood in a toy store, stacks ordinary objects over celebrity portraits to form a collage- a process called anamorphosis.

Happy New Year. Stay tuned for more.