Plasti-Play
Simon Anton
Bio
Simon Anton (Detroit, MI; he/him) is a multi-disciplinary artist, designer, and educator that collaborates across the fields of architecture, interior design, furniture, art, and jewelry. He is the co-founder of Thing Thing, a design collective that experiments in the transformation of post-consumer, hand-recycled polyethylene plastic sourced from surrounding communities and from industrial manufacturing. He facilitates the Oakland Ave Urban Farm Robotics Club. He is also the cofounder of Got Grief House where he promotes art as a means of grief counseling. His work has been presented at the Hong Kong Shenzhen Biennale, Expo Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and the Venice Architecture Biennale. Anton received a Master of Fine Arts in 3D Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Project Statement
How can disparate parts connect together to form a whole? How can one make a sculpture through hands-on play? PlastiPlay is a project exploring sculpture through play. At the root is a technique where plastic waste is grafted onto lengths of steel that have been fabricated with threads. These colorful fragments are connected onto one other intuitively with machined brass hardware. Rather than be settled in a fixed form, the artwork is an always shifting composition based on the interaction of the user - offering a new perspective on both waste plastic and making the role of artist more accessible.
Visual Description
Inside the gallery is a table with a dark blue base and a circular top. Atop the table sits a sculptural form made from curving colorful pieces connected together with brass fixtures. The curving forms are made from specially recycled, plastic pieces, and are able to be moved and re-oriented using the brass fixtures.