Within the 20th century, there came the use of plastics in art. [1] In the latter half of the century, plastic technology advanced so that it was feasible for artists to start using plastic and acrylics as an artwork medium.
Art made of commodity materials sometimes uses found objects made of plastic. [3] [4] Plastic containers are useful in papier-mâché for building frames. [5]
Environmental artists are using salvaged beach plastic to create art as a means of bringing awareness of plastic pollution in Earth's oceans. Examples include: Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang, members of Women Eco Artists Dialog, and the photography of Chris Jordan.
Liquid acrylics can be used to create two- and three-dimensional plastic images and objects. Artist, Tyler Turkle, pours multiple thin layers of pigmented liquid acrylic to form sheets of plastic that result in paintings and sculptures. After adequate drying time between applications, these solid plastic sheets can be readily peeled off most surfaces and re-adhered to others. [6]
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is the synthetic polymer derived from methyl methacrylate. It is used as an engineering plastic, and it is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Hesalite, Plexiglas, Acrylite, Lucite, and Perspex, among several others. This plastic is often used in sheet form as a lightweight or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. It can also be used as a casting resin, in inks and coatings, and for many other purposes.
Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as well as bronze elements to be fitted to other objects such as furniture. It is often gilded to give gilt-bronze or ormolu.
Plastic arts are art forms which involve physical manipulation of a plastic medium, such as clay, wax, paint – or even plastic in the modern sense of the word – to create works of art. The term is used more generally to refer to the visual arts, rather than literature and music. Materials for use in the plastic arts, in the narrower definition, include those that can be carved or shaped, such as stone or wood, concrete, glass, or metal.
Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materials, such as plastic. A laminate is a layered object or material assembled using heat, pressure, welding, or adhesives. Various coating machines, machine presses and calendering equipment are used.
Papier-mâché, frequently written as paper mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, and bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste.
Paper craft is a collection of crafts using paper or card as the primary artistic medium for the creation of two or three-dimensional objects. Paper and card stock lend themselves to a wide range of techniques and can be folded, curved, bent, cut, glued, molded, stitched, or layered. Papermaking by hand is also a paper craft.
Eva Hesse was a German-born American sculptor known for her pioneering work in materials such as latex, fiberglass, and plastics. She is one of the artists who ushered in the postminimal art movement in the 1960s.
Roxy Paine is an American painter and sculptor widely known for his installations that often convey elements of conflict between the natural world and the artificial plains man creates. He was educated at both the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico and the Pratt Institute in New York.
Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value.
Excessivism is an art movement. In 2015 American artist and curator Kaloust Guedel introduced it to the world with an exhibition titled Excessivist Initiative. The review of the exhibition written by art critic and curator Shana Nys Dambrot, titled "Excessivism: Irony, Imbalance and a New Rococo" was published in the Huffington Post. Its early adopters go back to late 20th century.
Will Ryman is an American artist known for his large-scale sculptures and public art projects.
Painting is a visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, may be used. One who produces paintings is called a painter.
Resin casting is a method of plastic casting where a mold is filled with a liquid synthetic resin, which then hardens. It is primarily used for small-scale production like industrial prototypes and dentistry. It can be done by amateur hobbyists with little initial investment, and is used in the production of collectible toys, models and figures, as well as small-scale jewellery production.
Tim Scott is a British sculptor known for his abstract sculptures made from transparent acrylic and steel. While studying architecture, Scott also studied sculpture part-time at Saint Martin's School of Art with Sir Anthony Caro, where he also later taught. Inspired by the example of David Smith, Scott began to make sculptures using materials such as fibreglass, glass, metal, and acrylic sheets.
The conservation and restoration of outdoor artworks is the activity dedicated to the preservation and protection of artworks that are exhibited or permanently installed outside. These works may be made of wood, stone, ceramic material, plastic, bronze, copper, or any other number of materials and may or may not be painted. When applied to cultural heritage this activity is generally undertaken by a conservator-restorer.
Acrylic embedment is a process of encapsulating various objects into lucite. The process is used for preserving specimens, encapsulating electronics, and making decorative items such as trophies and jewelry.
Conservation and restoration of objects made from plastics is work dedicated to the conservation of objects of historical and personal value made from plastics. When applied to cultural heritage, this activity is generally undertaken by a conservator-restorer.
Pam Longobardi is an American contemporary artist and ecofeminist, currently living and working in Atlanta, Georgia. She is known internationally for sculptural works and installations created from plastic debris, primarily from marine and coastal environments, as a primary material. Much of her work includes community-based research, such as carbon or plastic audits, as well as collaborative art creation.
David Black was an American sculptor known for both, his pioneering, avant-garde use of plastics and his monumental, aluminum, large scale public sculptures.
Judith Selby Lang is an American artist and environmental activist working with found beach plastic. Selby Lang is known for sourcing beach plastic from a single site: 1000 yards of Kehoe Beach along the Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, and then turning that plastic into artworks. Selby Lang works both independently and with her partner Richard Lang.