As part of Tryon Arts & Crafts School’s Crafts and Conversation Series, David and Robin Edgar will be speaking on the Origins and Mythology of the Plastiquarium on Thursday, June 8 from 12 to 1 p.m. at the school, 373 Harmon Field Road in Tryon. TACS developed the free series to provide an inside look into the art of craft for all within the community.   

David Edgar’s artwork has always been strongly influenced by the 20th century tradition of found-object assembly. However, in 2004, he shifted from working in steel to making artwork from post-consumer recyclable plastics. One of the results of working in this new media is the series he refers to as “Creatures from the Plastiquarium.” 

David says, “The Plastiquarium is immersed in mystery. Modern myth suggests that a century of increasing phosphate levels in the earth’s marine environment caused new synthetic life forms to emerge. As recyclable HDPE plastic containers spread concentrates of consumer product pollutants, the Plastiquarium creatures evolved in the image of their packaging forbearers.”

David is particularly interested in exploring the relationship between environmental challenges and our disposable consumer culture. He has exhibited his Plastiquarium artwork at over 50 museums and cultural venues across the United States and internationally.

A graduate of the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art, Edgar worked on EPCOT Center as an artist preparator with the Imagineering Division of the Walt Disney World Company before his professional career in art administration. Edgar’s artwork is represented internationally in corporate, institutional, and private collections.

David and his wife Robin have published “Fantastic Recycled Plastic” (Lark Books, 2009) a book on the creation of contemporary craft art made using post-consumer recyclable plastics.

Come, bring a lunch (beverages and snacks will be provided) and hear more about David’s work and the mystery of the Plastiquarium!

– article submitted by Cathy Fischer