Part Art, All Parts

August 23, 2010 11:54 AM

Auto-wrecker turned artist James Corbett makes amazing things out of old parts.
posted by jacquilynne (9 comments total)

Wow, his stuff is really impressive and fun! Maybe I can get my husband to do something creative with all the old car parts sitting around our garage.

The "amazing" link doesn't seem to be working, but maybe it's just me.
posted by amyms at 12:28 PM on August 23, 2010

Ya'know, I've always been a sucker for this kind of art, even in less polished forms.

Charlie's Place in SF has a dinosaur made from motorcycle parts, as do many old repair places.
posted by poe at 12:32 PM on August 23, 2010

It's on a different site than the rest of the links, maybe that site doesn't love direct photo links? There's a gallery of this guy's work making the rounds of the blogs, but many have posted it without attribution, or attributed to an Argentinian (he's Australian) so I went back to his own site for the link. It's a better picture of this sheep sculpture.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:34 PM on August 23, 2010

I like the fact that the parts are so very clearly what they are, and yet I wonder how I didn't see the shapes Corbett sees when re-assembling them into something else before. It's like there was a tree frog just longing to spring out of a Beetle, but not until the artist freed him.
posted by xingcat at 12:41 PM on August 23, 2010 [1 favorite]

"The "amazing" link doesn't seem to be working, but maybe it's just me."

"Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn't here."

It's not just you.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 1:47 PM on August 23, 2010

We donated an old car years ago to a guy who made dinosaurs out of old car parts. He had an exhibit at a local small museum. His name was Jim Gary, and sadly he has passed away.
http://lostinjersey.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/jim-garys-dinosaurs/

His were more cartoon, less sleek than Corbett's but still very cool. And he was a nice guy.
posted by mermayd at 1:50 PM on August 23, 2010

Very cool that he resists using a wheel as a wheel, or lights as just a light, etc. I think most people would be stuck in a similar literal mode...this guy seems to be selecting parts by texture and other elements that add up to really nice design.
posted by circular at 5:24 PM on August 23, 2010

I know it's sort of an art cliche, but I like that Mr. Gary left something behind for us.
posted by mecran01 at 8:28 PM on August 23, 2010

Jim Gary's Dinosaurs
posted by mecran01 at 8:29 PM on August 23, 2010 [1 favorite]