Assignment 5 - Found Objects

 

Found objects:

Lunch Box

Moss and rocks

Glue gun and toothpicks 

Various rock sizes

Final diorama 

The purpose of this project was to use found objects that have one meaning but when combined have a different one. 

“Found” coming across an object by chance or unexpectedly - Oxford Languages definition.

The thrill of thrift shopping is finding an object by chance, one that usually holds significant value to a person whether it’s monetary or sentimental. In this case, while hunting a local antique store I found a Yogi Bear lunchbox. It brought back memories of being a kid and taking a classic metal lunchbox with the flip latch to school every day. There is just something about the rattle the handle makes when your carrying it that stirs memories of my childhood. 

This was the perfect found object to use for this project. An ordinary lunchbox, meant to hold consumable food items. However, it takes on a new meaning because of the figures that were painted on the box. The figures being Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, who became famous in 1958 when their classic cartoon in Jellystone Park began on television. It showed  their escapades of trying to steal park visitor’s  lunches. It was comical to see the trouble they got into and how Park Ranger Smith always had to help. I guess it’s one of the reasons I find it ironic that these two bears are on a lunch box, a box with no food! 

Within the lunchbox I setup a diorama of a campsite in the woods, similar to one where Yogi would hunt for food in Jellystone Park. There is a campfire and dense forest, filled with moss, trees and rocks that I found in my craft bin. I used them to create a natural setting, paying particular attention to placement of trees and rocks so they weren’t uniform. The diorama is not just inside the box, it is attached to the inside of the lid so it gives the feeling of an extended scene. 

With the scene before you, one can’t help but think of another famous bear that helps prevent forest fires - Smokey The Bear.