Transforming Trash Into Musical Treasures
Ken Butler is doing some remarkable things with objects he’s found around New York City, turning what once was trash into unique, playable musical instruments. An artist and musician, Ken began collecting objects that he felt had interesting shapes and forming them into instruments, and has crafted over 400 of these trash creations. Like a kid picking up a tennis racket and pretending it is a guitar, Ken captures that creativity and playfulness with playable instruments he has crafted.
Ken often combines elements of a tradition instrument, such as guitar strings and a fret board, to create something completely new yet oddly familiar. Butler utilizes the shapes, textures, materials, and intrinsic qualities of things items he has found on the streets. Many of these objects are held in a way that seemingly mimics the instrument they are based off of, but others are completely unique in the way they reproduce sound. Ken also utilizes amplification on several of his creations to really capture their unique noises. Some of his inventions include a surfboard bass, a shotgun violin, and a mannequin cello.
Making new and interesting tones from the material that was formerly trash is Ken’s way of, as he says, “transforming your perception about our relationship to objects that we take for granted.” The designs of traditional musical instruments, innately full striking and iconic shapes, juxtaposed with the wild objects that Ken finds and utilizes, “allows some crazy things to happen that you probably couldn’t imagine.” His instruments have completely distinctive qualities, things that would not have been appreciated while these pieces of “trash” were ordinary objects.
Happy Hour Around The World
Cryogenics May Be Able To Keep You Alive Forever
-
The beloved artist has 32 Grammy awards to her name. Over the weekend, the 2023 Grammy Awards recognized the...
-
The accident left Leno with multiple broken bones. Back in November, comedian and television personality Jay Leno was badly...
-
The rapper was awarded $82 million on the grounds that the company breached their endorsement deal with him. This...
-
Murphy received the award for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” This week, the 2023 Golden Globes recognized...
-
Renner is recovering after receiving chest and orthopedic surgery. Earlier this week, actor Jeremy Renner, best known for his...
-
Though frightening, the incident gave Banderas new perspective in life. Last week saw the theater premiere of Puss in...
-
After 25 years, the animated series is moving onto new leads. Since it began airing in the 90s, the...
-
The neurological disorder has prompted Dion to postpone her next shows. Prominent singer/songwriter Celine Dion announced today that, following...
-
Wednesday beat out Stranger Things for most hours watched in its premiere week. Last week saw the Netflix premiere...
-
Schneider won the $250,000 grand prize. Monday night saw the final episode of the 2022 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions,...
-
The fifth season’s pitch reportedly made Netflix executives cry. The fifth and final season of Netflix’s smash-hit series, Stranger...
-
A new film is coming in 2023. Since the 1950s, Toho’s Godzilla has been the first and foremost name...