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Writer's pictureBrooks Boland

Part 3: Telling the Story Through Art

Updated: Nov 2, 2022

The team over at MSP Disposal has placed a lot of focus on awareness. We knew we had built an amazing business that has positively impacted so many local residences.


Our founder, Brooks Boland has always had an interest in art and what better way to tell a story through local artist and excess product. Brooks reached out to a local designer in town thought it would interesting to create a road map of art work which would get get commissioned.


"It's fascinating to put yourself around creative individuals like artists. Their minds are constantly thinking outside the box and I love placing myself around that kind of energy. Even our artist are trying to solve every days issues for our business. Its amazing to see how much they care and its my job to keep them busy by creating art which is the first of its category Sustainable Art"

Brooks Boland

Founder Minos Technology | MSP Disposal | The Twelve



COMMISSIONED ART:


"Mother Earth"

Tammy Loftis


I chose to take a whimsical approach for my project by

creating the face of Mother Earth.

As most mothers know from time to time our children

disappoint us... the true joy is when they discover the

revelation that change needs to occur and they take

action. This is where we are. Mother Earth is symbolic

of the environment from which life thrives. She

personifies nurturing and growth and how the earth

looks over us and provides life. It’s our responsibility to

care for her as she has cared for us. We must consider

the part we play in the outcome of our future and the

future of generations to come, each of us individually

and collectively have a role in her healing and survival.

There are no small steps, each and every step that

moves us in the direction of improvement moves us a

bit closer to a beautiful balance with nature. Her

expression conveys the confidence she feels that

together we can accomplish incredible things!


Materials Used: Computer Heatsinks which enable to computer from overheating.



 

"The IT Mandala"

Susan Lenz


The piece is 39 1/2" x 39 1/2". The title is Mandala CXXXII:

The IT Mandala ... but for this opportunity, just The IT

Mandala is perfectly good! For the most part, the piece

was created using eight fax phone receivers and most of

the "insides" of four fax phones ... plus lots of red, blue, and

yellow telephone cable connectors, caddies, CPU

connectors, and individual keys from two Dell

keyboards. The only non-e-waste pieces are the eight blue

and red plastic lids and eight yellow buttons. The substrata

is made from synthetic fabric on two layers of recycled

industrial felt. The only thing "new"/bought-new-by-me is

some of the thread. The work is mounted on a stretcher

bar over which I glued a piece of foam core. The piece

was then stitched to the foam core so that no section is

supporting more than a few inches of the weight of the

objects. The piece is heavy but professionally framed with

a strong wire for hanging.


Materials Used: Phones



 

"Call Waiting"

Flavia Lovatelli


The title of my piece is Call Waiting and the short description: I chose to

create my piece with phone receivers because that was one of my

strongest memories growing up, I remember simpler times, no cell

phones, only rotary phones at home, and we used to have to fight to use

the phone. I also remember when my father found and extra long cord so

we could walk around the room and pace if we needed to while talking or

go hide in a room to talk privately. I didn’t have any idea what I was going

to make out of my loot, I had to sit with the bin full of tangled cords and

receivers for three days and only when I unpacked them and started

sorting out the different styles, lining them up to sort them out did this

vision hit me, or rather, hit my husband. The receivers lined up in nice

little rows reminded him of old diner pleather chairs, the red and white

striped ones, so he suggested the chair! It was such a great idea we were

able to build it within two days, taking apart an old folding metal chair,

cutting the wood for the base, gluing and screwing the receivers in,

painting the wood, and wrapping the cords on all the legs. The table took

another two days of scavenging for the parts, painting, gluing etc.


Materials Used: Phones



 

"Man/Machine Interface"

Lucas Sams

My concept is "Man/Machine Interface" and deals with the symbiotic

nature of modern man and machine and both of our place in nature.

In my head, the figure embodies a sort of cyber-Gaia. The piece will have

a physical representation of the Earth (potentially the cosmos as well),

but as of now all I have fleshed out is the central cyborg figure.


Materials Used: Phone Cables, Graphics Card, MotherBoards



 

"Creatures in Nature"

Carol Washburn


"No Name"


Materials Used: Keyboards, CPUs, Floppy Disks



 

"Gentle Giant"

Tammy Cline


Did you know that dragonflies are older than dinosaurs?

These insects have been referred to as gentle giants and

are known to be as large as crows in prehistoric times.

Dragonflies are vital aspects of the environment in which

they stabilize oxygen levels and clean the water. As they

protect the earth, they carry an underlying message of self-

protection for all mankind. The dragonfly is symbolic in

representing change, which in the ever-changing world of

today gives exponential meaning to having a positive

outlook on life.


As they protect the earth and teach us

about our self-protection, we can learn to reconnect on the

path to our happiness, strength, and preservation of our

environment. Changing the narrative of having scrap metal

waste cluttering up the environment lead to this project

connecting with the symbolizing aspect of the dragonfly.

Change, transformation, and adaptability are attributes

that embody a dragonfly and are what I fixated on during

the creation of this piece.


What does one dragonfly do for the earth?

Dragonflies are important to the environment in that they

stabilize oxygen levels, and clean water. They symbolize our

ability to overcome adversity and hardships. They protect our

earth and teach us about our own self protection; We can learn

to reconnect on the path to our own happiness and strength.

The dragonflies in a symbol of change, just as our world is swiftly

changing. Its metamorphosis begins in the water and grows out

through change. If one is to land on you, it means change is

about to begin. The dragonfly glides through seasons and

turbulent environment without a care; as we should embrace

the ever-changing seasons of life.

This dragonfly has helped to prevent metals and other materials

from ending up in wasteland, by taking care of God’s earth. The

shape of the dragonfly resembles the cross, as a reminder of

where peace and happiness derives from.


Materials Used: Back Plane, Heat Sink, CPU



 

"Mushroom"

Angel Allen


The concept of mushrooms as a form to create with IT-

waste came from my son’s girlfriend, Ashley Brown. I knew

I wanted an organic form to contrast with the material. I

also live in a rainforest microclimate in Western North

Carolina, so the number of fungi is mind blowing. She said

of mushrooms, “they’re intelligent organisms with both

positive and negative aspects to them (ie, they're a vital

piece of our ecosystem but some are dangerously

poisonous).


There is also something a little mysterious and

unknown about them, similar to technology.” I will dig

deeper into the parallels of IT and mushrooms in my artist

statement. While I’m using a particular species as a model,

this is only for reference of form, and I will not be trying to

duplicate only borrowing characteristics from many to

achieve the intended aesthetic.


My goal is to use what I have on hand to create this form.

My substrate will be built from “eco” bricks (recyclables

from my own bin) and the tech waste provided to me. To

build integrity into the structure I will use rebar imbedded

in concrete and to create the subtle curves and shapes,

hardware cloth, fiberglass mesh, cables and thin set. Color,

pattern and texture for the surface will come from, cables,

wires and pieces of computer guts. I expect to be led in

many directions as I embark on the process, and I look

forward to seeing what materializes.


Materials Used: Phones, Ethernet Cable