Objects reborn 09/10/2009
 Waffle Iron Heights © David Trautrimas Photography, old cast-off machines, and a shockingly new sense of scale combine to form unique pieces of art in David Trautrimas' work. He creates a fictional world, with old junky stuff most of us wouldn't look at twice. The objects, in their new surroundings look amazingly like real architecture in actual townscapes. You can almost imagine little beings working, living and sleeping in this slightly dreary new world. David collects old objects, photographs them, then digitally re-creates them into these little worlds. On the computer he adds trees, fences, doors and windows, that will make the old gadgets come to life. The gadgets themselves are a range of old kitchen mixers, hole punchers, waffle irons, staplers, vacuum cleaners, coffee machines and other household objects. There is a fantastic sense of juxtaposition, and abstraction, which leads to totally unexpected results. The dramatic deconstruction, and then re-construction blends the lines between the oddly familiar and totally bizarre. No object is too old or too ugly. In this new place, they all become homes and offices, belonging both to the future and the past. They make a new architectural style, and gives the old and forgotten renewed purpose. Why do everyday things like this fascinate humans so much? Probably because a drastic change of context and surrounding almost change the object itself. What was garbage, is now art. David is pretty much a full-time collector, always on the look out for old household objects that he can transform. The more scratches, dents and missing parts, the more beautiful it is to David. He sifts through garage sales, e-bay auctions and flea markets to find them. He confesses to being an 'obsessive junk hunter', even taking apart his own Toyota to complete a piece. He is technically adept enough to dismantle a piece, extract and replace the bit he needs, put it back together, and still keep it in working condition. When he gets the junk back home, he shoots it against a white neutral background. He then roams the city again, taking thousands of photographs of lawns, buildings, driveways, trees, lights and sidewalks, all of which will form the visual database that will surround the objects. His attention to detail, the placement of the trees, windows, the realistically airy sky, all contribute to creating the urban, industrial ambience of the piece. More than his photoshop wizardry, its his ability to imagine the piece of metal in a parallel universe that makes his work unique. Have a look at the range of 'factories' he has created, and take a look at the rest of his work on his site. By Armeen Kapadia  Automobile factory © David Trautrimas  Cooler factory © David Trautrimas  Fan factory © David Trautrimas  Staples factory © David Trautrimas 1 Comment |   Every monthSeptember 2010 CategoriesAll |
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