Traveling artist Lonnie Holley makes art from trash

It started as a collection of tires, branches, old radios and wires. But after one session with Lonnie Holley, the pile of items was transformed into art.

Holley, a visual and performance artist, is visiting UNC this week. He held a public art-making talk outside Wilson Library Tuesday to share about his visual art and music.

“The things that I use are mostly things people have thrown away. I choose stuff from the lowest places of our throwaway habits — ditches and creeks,” Holley said.

Although he picks his art components out of garbage heaps, he chooses his materials purposefully.

“I like materials that have strong subject material — like what do they mean, where do they come from? How long and where will I use them?” Holley said.

Holley also talked about the wastefulness of human nature when it comes to possessions.

“We only want these things to please us, we want these things to bring us joy,” he said. “When we get tired of them, we throw them away.”

Holley encourages others to think about how their actions affect the earth, saying he first noticed how much trash is thrown away when he was 5 years old.

“My house was right in front of a ditch so when it rained, everything from the drive-in and fairground nearby washed into the ditch,” he said.

“Pity be the fool, pity be the fool, I say, because we put the garbage in plastic bags, but we are hurting Mother Earth.”

As one of 27 children, Holley did not grow up in a wealthy family or receive formal art training.

Ellen Saunders Duncan, a junior American Studies major who listened to Holley speak, said she appreciates Holley as an artist because he is relatable.

“He’s had a boots-on-the-ground experience,” she said.

Hannah Seda, a senior interdisciplinary studies in visual culture major, said she likes Holley because he is an unconventional artist.

“His art is just as good, if not better, than what you see in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” she said.

“In some ways, his art speaks more for our culture than some of the stuff you see in European art, in my opinion.”

Holley’s art has even inspired others to start making art using similar methods.

Livingston Stout, a 2006 graduate of Emory University and a fan of Holley’s work, attended Holley’s talk on Tuesday. Stout began making his own art after being exposed to Holley and other outside-the-box artists.

“Since I got into these artists, I started making my own art with stuff I found laying around,” he said.

Holley said he hopes to inspire others to waste less and be more mindful of what they throw away.

“I hope that what I say and how I say it can be inspiration when someone hears it.”

Holley will be in the area for the rest of the week.

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