Sculpture Fabricated From 20th Century By-Products

How often have you come upon useless hardware, such as old nuts and bolts or other miscellaneous "stuff" hidden in a cabinet, box, or old suitcase and buried in the garage or attic? You can even hear Grandpa saying, "Keep it, you might need it someday!" Or perhaps you have perused a local garage sale, only to find a one-of-a-kind treasure, and you can’t, for the life of you, figure out what it could be used for. However, since it is so interesting and unique, you simply "must" take it home.

Well, the next time you are in Long Beach, you might want to drop into the Artscape Gallery, which showcases the work of Rick Frausto. Rick is a Southern California artist who incorporates scrap materials into his wildly creative style, blending artistic inventiveness and reuse. "Every item in my studio is used, and reused. If I have a paintbrush which is no longer functional for painting, I incorporate it into a new sculpture," explained Rick. He charismatically refers to his art as "sculpture fabricated from twentieth century by-products," and that is precisely what is it. In Rick's hands, metal, glass, plastic, paper, and fabric "artifacts and relics" from the not-so-distant past are transformed into unique and entertaining sculptures. One can’t help but smile when looking at his work, since it brings out the child and the recycler in everyone.

Recent exhibits have provided Rick with a growing number of patrons who, having once seen his work, are interested in commissioning new projects and dropping off their accumulated "treasures and relics" found in their basements. Arriving at his studio are boxloads of lifeless junk that will eventually be converted into living sculpture. Once these odds and ends arrive, he sorts and organizes them into trays, boxes, and drawers, and even hangs them from the walls and ceiling. There they wait, until such time when he can create that one-of-a-kind assemblage d'art. What better use of these assorted twentieth century by-products, than to capture the imagination of a talented and resource-efficient artist?

Motivated by a pervasive interest in "eclectic tinker design," Rick maintains that he was strongly influenced by working alongside his grandfather, a tinker and inventor par excellence. "I have been tinkering since I was a child. My grandfather was a tinker and inventor type. In fact, I recently received one of his sculptures from his "early days," only to find that one of my most recent sculptures was very reminiscent of something he designed more than fifty years ago. Actually, it was a little unnerving."

His art is whimsical and radiates a childlike spirit. Pictured above is a photograph of Frausto and his famed "Rabbit." Not since the days of "Harvey" has a rabbit captured the imagination and brought a smile to the face of so many, both young and old. The major components of this sculpture include a set of "rabbit ears" from a 1950s television, a bongo drum, various lamp parts, two shoe stretchers, and a fruit tray, which supports the entire structure. Who wouldn't want this friendly and amicable character at home, or in the office?

Rick’s most recent sculpture is entitled "Flim Flam" and was commissioned by Alice Sebold. It is a three-dimensional sculpture incorporating old 1920's slides from Ms. Sebold's collection. With red velvet drapes, this movie theatre in miniature provides the viewer with a comic and arcane look at the past. A flickering light radiating from the projectionist booth enhances the realism of this Lilliputian environment. The result is a 1920 image, which is projected toward the viewers in the theatre. A new "movie" is shown whenever one slide is exchanged for another. Delightful in both concept and execution, this one-time assortment of miscellaneous hardware and cloth gives us a comic look at the past.

Commissioned by Mazda's advertising agency, Rick's most recent achievement is a semi-robotic fortune teller entitled "An Eye on the Future." A photo of the fortune teller is the centerfold of an upcoming advertising campaign publication, where 300,000 publications will be mailed to product owners. Originally, Mazda was intrigued by Rick's work because it was "hokey." Therefore, to create that quintessential comedic look, Rick used a peacock feather and costume jewelry as the fortune tellers headpiece—reminiscent of the infamous Zoltar! The fortune teller's body is made from an old carburetor, the head consists of old plumbing materials, a teslar globe that responds to touch serves as the "crystal ball," and old typewriter keys spell out the name Mazda.

So where does Rick find most of his materials? A frequenter of yard sales and thrift stores, Rick continues his search for unique and specialty discards and antiques. His favorite materials are small metal parts, electronic equipment, and miscellaneous hardware. Because these parts were built to last, they offer an element of longevity to his work and reinforce the concept of reuse. Although Rick is grateful for all the materials he has received, he is still looking for more. "Now, if I could only find an aerospace business and get their used and discarded parts, that would be monumental. Where could I find a business like that?" queries Rick. How about a machine shop or old parts shop? If you own such a business, consider contacting Rick, he might save your company money when it comes to your disposal costs.

As Rick designs new and cleverly creative images utilizing his grandfather's tinkering skills, one witnesses a sculptor rich in ingenuity, bright in inventiveness, and comic in attitude. Metal, plastic, and wooden scraps are transformed into futuristic characters with machine-like personas, and arcane sculptures. As such, we look to Rick Frausto and his memorable assemblages d'art, in the hope that he continues his work and inspires others to seek their fortune in the reuse marketplace of the twentieth century.

If you would like to see more sculptures created by Rick Frausto, he is featured at the Artscape Gallery in Long Beach. If you are in Long Beach and need a copy of CalMAX, we were told that they always have extra copies on hand, so just stop by.

Artscape
c/o Jeanine McWhorter
2226 E. 4th Street
Long Beach, California 90814

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Last updated: August 01, 2008