Oil drum art has a tradition that extends all the way to Haiti. Haitian art is well known for brilliant colours, exuberant style and historical, religious and nature-inspired imagery. The city of Croix-des-Bouquets in particular is well-known for its metal sculptures created from recycled steel oil drums.
In North America, oil drum art has become an environmental art form. Jack Lardis, the president and founder of New England-based Oil Drum Art, Inc., says that the oil drum is “a powerful metaphor.” It “reflects many of society’s issues about oil – the environment, global warming, the economy, the energy crisis, our carbon footprint, and the Middle East conflict,” but it also reminds us of the comforts we now enjoy because of fossil fuel. Due to the nature of its material, oil drum art provides the artist with an opportunity to make an environmental or geopolitical statement about society in a uniquely creative manner.
Oil drum art ranges from oil drums sporting painted images to small metal sculptures that barely bear any resemblance to the original oil drum. Cal Lane’s art in Sweet Crude falls somewhere in the middle – her designs have the delicacy and detail of small sculptures yet maintain the look of the original oil drum. Lane therefore creates additional layers of meaning in her work, contrasting, for example, the industrialism of the oil drum with the whimsy of mythological images.
In North America, oil drum art has become an environmental art form. Jack Lardis, the president and founder of New England-based Oil Drum Art, Inc., says that the oil drum is “a powerful metaphor.” It “reflects many of society’s issues about oil – the environment, global warming, the economy, the energy crisis, our carbon footprint, and the Middle East conflict,” but it also reminds us of the comforts we now enjoy because of fossil fuel. Due to the nature of its material, oil drum art provides the artist with an opportunity to make an environmental or geopolitical statement about society in a uniquely creative manner.
Oil drum art ranges from oil drums sporting painted images to small metal sculptures that barely bear any resemblance to the original oil drum. Cal Lane’s art in Sweet Crude falls somewhere in the middle – her designs have the delicacy and detail of small sculptures yet maintain the look of the original oil drum. Lane therefore creates additional layers of meaning in her work, contrasting, for example, the industrialism of the oil drum with the whimsy of mythological images.
Sweet Crude is on display at the Art Gallery of Mississauga until April 25, 2010.
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