Some University artists are redefining what it means to “recycle.”
An exhibit at the Adell McMillan Art Gallery is showcasing works shaped exclusively from “recycled junk.” “Spontaneous Combustion,” which runs through May 3, is giving students an opportunity to look at the practical materials used everyday from a new perspective and rethink traditional notions of artistic expression.
“Combustion” was the brainchild of UO Cultural Forum Visual Arts Coordinator Mary Rasmussen, who gathered 13 artists, including herself, during one weekend to create the unique exhibit. She provided the artists with the materials, including sink faucets, mannequins, gas tanks and an antique sewing machine. They then shaped the exhibit collectively on the spot.
“Throughout the project, artists worked together by giving feedback on each other’s progress and advice in utilizing the space and materials effectively,” Rasmussen said.
The result is a jagged and expressive collage of imagery that causes the viewer’s eye to dart from one component to another. Multimedia major and “Combustion” artist Judah Switzer was attracted to the project’s unorthodox conception.

“We found things that greater society rejected and made them into statements, inventions and visions,” she said.
The history behind “Combustion” matches its conception because the project was a replacement for an exhibit that was canceled just two days before it was to go up, Rasmussen said.
The circumstances surrounding the creation separate “Combustion” from other collections on campus, bringing artists from disparate genres to form a collective vision within a specific time and place.
“Usually artists show work in campus galleries that they have been working on for a long time. This exhibit was different in that everyone came in at the same level, without already-made art pieces, making the installations purely spontaneous,” said Rasmussen.
Geography Professor Peter Walker said he couldn’t help but stop to check out the collection as he walked past.
Walker believes “Combustion” succeeds in challenging people to reassess what they may assume is art, and was struck by the collection’s relevance for students.
“It’s clearly student-initiated,” he said.
Walker also said that the portion depicting a mannequin wearing a dress made of bank statements and student loan papers seems “fixated on how students get caught up in money rackets and credit schemes.”
“Combustion” seems especially alive in its gallery space, and according to Switzer, freedom is the point.
“It is much more like the works of Jackson Pollack, where emotion comes before cleanliness or perfection, and the art becomes beautiful in its freedom.”