Back when they were released, we stacked them high. But now our dusty videos, floppies – and for some of us, even CDs – have been relegated to cardboard boxes in attics, or worse. But one man who might be happy to take your obsolete formats off your hands is Nick Gentry – an artist who uses discarded and outdated formats, from Polaroids to cassettes, as artist’s materials.
Gentry’s art is not only eye-catching, it provokes us to re-consider our wasteful approach to new products (and our thoughtless disregarding of the old). However, Gentry isn’t the only one turning his attention to obsolete formats….
Despite digital music’s usurping of CDs, vinyl records have seen renewed popularity in recent years. I myself remember collecting 7″ singles from indie record shops as a high school/sixth form student – something I’d probably still be doing if I had a vinyl player here in Dublin. I’ve also noticed a few bands releasing cassettes – all a sort of parallel to the ironic appropriation of old-fashioned and outdated styles in hipster fashion I suppose.
Then there is the undying love for the Polaroid camera, with countless ‘Save the Polaroid’ internet campaigns being launched since the instant camera’s phasing out was announced. They worked – and in the wake of all this online publicity, the company even bagged a collaboration with Lady Gaga (the results of which are due to be announced on Thursday) – a sure way to score a few sales.
But is the resurgence of interest in obsolete formats a trend as fickle as the consumer market that lead us to ditch them in the first place? For Nick Gentry, his materials will take on the permanence of an artwork. Anyone else who gets creative and puts their obsolete formats to a good, novel use gets top marks – think of a function your floppies, videos and the like can serve you, and you get something for nothing (CDs are constantly used as drinks coasters in the Too Gallant household, though I can’t recommend this for anyone precious about their collection – tea spills are as inevitable pulling out a cringe-inducing teenage purchase, though I reckon that’s all part of the fun).
What we suggest you steer away from, however, are the companies that are bound to catch onto this trend, producing new products designed to look like they’re made from obsolete formats, when they’re actually not. I harbor a similar hatred for high street t-shirts bearing the slogan ‘vintage’ on the front – a somehow unconvincing claim. Hijacking an anti-waste orientated movement to sell a new product is more than ironic – and not the ‘cool’ kind of ironic…
Rosa Abbott is an arts, fashion and culture obsessive originating from Yorkshire, England, and currently living in Dublin, Ireland. On top of being a student at the illustrious Trinity College, she is a freelance journalist, writing for a number of Irish publications, and also edits the visual arts section of entertainment magazine Totally Dublin.
When she’s not up to her eyeballs in writing, Rosa works as an assistant to stylist Aisling Farinella and volunteers at various art galleries. Her musings on life, style and art can also be found over at her blog, Too Gallant.
