Where PET is concerned, lightweighting, production output, recyclate ratios and energy consumption are all hot topics. This is the level of PET that we are all familiar with, the level of technology and economic efficiency. But if we look at the end of the PET value added chain, apart from recycling, PET can reach another, entirely new level of existence: art.
Waste and valuable materials are often one and the same thing, explains Herta Wimmer-Knorr, object artist and sculptor. This was her realisation upon cleaning out the apartment of a compulsive hoarder. Her conscience has had a strong effect on her art. Due to her ecological attitude, she has always felt guilt-ridden whenever something was to be thrown away.
As an object artist, Herta Wimmer-Knorr loves to pick from an embarrassment of riches. She enjoys being lavish with her material, so that she can “play” with it. Then again, she hates “leftovers”, that is material which is not put to use and thus becomes waste. When she turned her attention to plastic as a material for her art, she decided to process and enrich waste: This was the birth of the “from trash to treasure” project. Plastic bottles turned out to be excellent working materials for her. And then, one day, a PET bottle literally landed at her feet.
PET SCULPTURES
“PET is a great material for me as an artist. But sometimes, it can be stubborn, sometimes it doesn’t want to do what I want.” As an engineer, this sounds familiar: Even once all the technical requirements for bottle production have been fulfilled and the bottle has reached the end of its useful life, PET is still demanding and has a mind of its own. Wimmer-Knorr: “I have realized wonderful, exacting projects with PET, and through this I have gained a lot of new experiences. Particularly the “Le PETit Bourgeois”, a large gnome made of PET and iron was an interesting project. It stood between flowerbeds and shrubberies at a garden show in 2014. After the show ended, it was moved to its’ sponsor’s premises, a waste management company, where it serves as a giant doorman, watching over people separating their own waste.
Other great projects were the chess knight and Elvis, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. Currently, the artist is creating illuminated sculptures for ceilings and walls. “PET is primarily packaging, and then waste. But for me, it is also a brilliant material and resource which I enjoy taking to the next level,” says Herta Wimmer-Knorr.
THE ARTIST
The object artist and sculptor Herta Wimmer-Knorr from the small and picturesque Bavarian artists’ village of Kallmünz is interested in a wide range of topics. One of the materials she loves working with is – surprise – PET. Herta Wimmer-Knorr is originally from the Bavarian city of Passau, and trained at the ceramics college in Landshut. She is a member of the professional association of visual artists of Lower Bavaria / Upper Palatinate. She has been living and working in Kallmünz near Regensburg since 1985.
For more information, please visit:
www.wimmer-knorr.de
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