CR Blog
Mark Langan: corrugated creativity
Posted by Patrick Burgoyne, 24 March 2010, 15:21 Permalink Comments (9)
Mark Langan is a self-taught artist who works in a very particular medium - corrugated cardboard
After being made redundant from a job in the transportation industry in 2004, Ohio-based Langan decided to give art a go. He schlepped unsuccesfully around local art fairs trying to sell whatever he could but realised that unless he could find something unique to do, he was wasting his time.
Then, one day, inspiration struck. "I ripped apart a large box, happened to notice the wavy fluted medium inside and thought I could use this unique material by taking it out of its intended purpose as a package and turning it into a visual art form," he says. "Neighbours of mine had just moved into a new home and I asked them if they wouldn’t mind saving me their boxes once they had emptied them from the move. I picked up this huge stack, brought them home and started experimenting with them. I created my first abstract artwork titled Max and Lori’s Move and was so pleased with the results I’ve been hooked ever since."
Langan has found a particular niche recreating company logos in works to hang in their offices.
Each piece takes between 80 and 100 hours and uses entirely recycled materials, although some clients, such as Kellogg, have asked him to work with their own packaging materials.
For each project, Langan will blow up the logo in question using a projector. He then uses a drawing table and T-square to plan out the piece.
Langan at work. You can see more here
9 Comments
This is great. I never knew cardboard boxes could be so beautiful. I love to see individuals that have an original idea and go the extra distance in being creative. Great work.
2010-03-24 17:42:21
kooky nonsense with no real artistic value.
2010-03-24 18:06:54
Kooky sculptural artifacts replete with artistic value.
2010-03-24 23:21:42
It appears that corrugated cardboard is v popular at the moment.
I am photographing a project for artists teaching eco building skills with cardboard in Bexhill High School.
Here's the real mccoy: http://www.shigerubanarchitects.com/SBA_WORKS/SBA_PAPER/SBA_Paper_index.htm
Bip.
2010-03-25 08:08:25
Wow, never thought you would be able to create such neat and precise designs with corrugated cardboard.
Really inspiring, thanks.
2010-03-25 11:26:07
I love how someone could say "no artistic value"---How petty and obviously filled with envy!
2010-03-25 14:50:12
I'd seen all these textures in cardboard, before, but never in the way Mark has. Beautiful
2010-03-25 17:18:30
A guy loses his job and gets a creative idea and sees it through to a business and some jerk says it has no artistic value as his only contribution. Well done CR for running it.
2010-03-27 15:35:23
I visit many corrugated cardboard factory's as part of my job and they all seem to have something like these in the foyer....company log etc, made from corrugated board.
Helps that most of them have fancy CNC cutters for prototyping of boxes. Hope this guy keeps up the good work
2010-04-01 13:47:10
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