Here on upcycleDZINE you can find several upcycle design pieces made out of scrap wood. The first time I saw one of those designs it immediately reminded me of a bird’s eye view of a North American city. It’s just like looking at a city plan. It also reminds me of a painting called Broadway Boogie-Woogie by Dutch artist Piet Mondriaan that he made in New York [1942-43]. To me it shows streets, cars, buildings, traffic, motion and distribution.
When I saw this painting and his earlier work for the first time it made quite an impression on me. And that’s why I think I like these upcycled scrap wood tables. All these lines and pieces forming a new shape.
Abstract city and distorted forms
An upcycle design collection where this all comes together is called CITY SERIES. It’s a creation by designer James McNabb. His studio is located in a converted U.S. Post Office building in Philadelphia | United states.
James McNabb’s work is characterized by cityscape-inspired wood sculptures. According to James the sculptures “explore the limitless possibilities of the urban landscape and our human relationship to it.”
He created City Series by using scrap wood. The material gets a new meaning and function and forces viewers to create their own perspective of the urban landscape.
James McNabb:
“A collection of cityscape inspired sculptures that explore sociological concepts regarding transformations of cities and urban landscapes, their beauty, uniqueness, and over-development.”
Photos © James McNabb
Together with traditional woodworking techniques James uses an experimental approach by using a bandsaw. He calls this intuitive process “sketching with a bandsaw”. It allows him to work in a free way and thereby quickly generating forms.
Video © The Greatest Trick
City Series shows little architectural marvels that refer to abstract and in a way distorted forms of skyscrapers. It’s incredible to see that every building is unique.
I guess seeing the sculptures in real life is even so much more impressive than on these photo’s.
