Last fall, we told you about a grand exhibit marking the 25th anniversary of the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, that predictably unpredictable band of found-object artists who have been re-purposing the city’s castoffs since 1992.
This year, they’re back with an intriguing exhibit of all new work and you’re definitely invited, starting with a First Friday celebration on Nov. 2 from 2-10 p.m. at the Dupree Gallery, 703 S. 6th Street.
The Divers and friends previewed “Re-Crafted”, their new exhibit, last weekend at the Dupree Gallery in Philadelphia’s Queen Village section.
Through Dec. 29, thirty different Divers — including new members Tim Barton and Eve Hoyt — will offer witty, smaller-scale assemblages — and, yes, that definitely says one-of-a-kind holiday gifts to us!
Clockwise from top left: Work by Tim Barton, Ellen Sall, James Dupree, Neil Benson, and Eve Hoyt.
You can check out the complete artist list and all the gallery hours at the Dumpster Divers website, here.
Clockwise from top left: Work by Burnell Yow!, Eva Aanya Preston, Carol Cole, Bruce Gast, Ann Keech, and Lion Studio. Center: Leo Sewell.
As an added treat, the Divers are partnering with CraftNOW Philadelphia and almost two dozen local museums, galleries and fine craft groups, each of which is offering November events to celebrate our city’s innovative craft culture — including the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s prestigious contemporary craft show (Nov. 2-4).
“Look! Up in the sky! It’s…” an eyeball-covered mobile by artist Sally Willowbee (second from left).
This year’s citywide craft theme is “Making a Difference” and the Divers have been doing that for 26 years – reminding us all that “trash is simply a failure of imagination.”
That’s artist and gallery owner James Dupree — Philadelphia’s own “Black Picasso” — in the white coat at center. Click here to see our photo tour of his fabulous Mantua studio.
Information on all the November craft events can be found at the CraftNOW Philadelphia website, here. And don’t forget to check the Divers’ own website for a list of gallery hours between now and Dec. 29.
We’ll see you here!
Kate & Dave
Two of Randall’s captivating time pieces: On “Angel in Time” (left) the wings glide up and down, while the eyes open and close and fiber optic lights blink on and off. A bagpiper’s legs (right) form a clock’s moving pendulum.
Randall Cleaver with “Happy Feat”, his first animated clock. The vintage Victrola case boasts a pinball game and foosball players kicking bells. Famed tin-can artist Bobby Hansson also dances a jig.
Randall built the copper airships that swing around the Eiffel Tower on “Aerotime” (left). “A Pig in the Polk” (right) features spinning figures of President James Polk, while a fake flame crackles in the old heater base.
Does anyone really know what time it is? Randall and Beth certainly do: An animated display of Randall’s clocks light up a living room wall beneath a shelf with Beth’s handmade pottery.
Pieces from Randall’s antique clock collection share space with his own creations. And, yes, he made the white oak mantelpiece.
A collection of Randall’s unlikely lamps made with (from left) an electric kettle, a pair of metal colanders, an antique porcelain doll head, and an electric coffee pot.
“Migration” was inspired by “The Birds”, Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror film. When cranked, the birds go up and down, the phone booth revolves, and Hitchcock’s TV theme song plays.
Randall in his art studio and clock workshop. Check the Internet for videos of his animated clocks in motion!
James E. Dupree – Philadelphia’s own Black Picasso
Three rooms in the marvelous maze that is Dupree’s West Philadelphia studio 
We’ll keep the lights on for you ’til 2 a.m. each night.
Some of the more than 125 works you’ll find behind our purple door.
Collage, fiber and found-object art by Eva Aanya Preston, Ellen Sall, I. George Bilyk, Burnell Yow! and Bruce Gast
Among our 46 featured Diver artists are (clockwise from top left): Leo Sewell, Ellen Sall, John Jonik, Hugo Hsu, Smokie Kittner and Harry Anderson
Who are these people, and do they always dress like that? Well, actually, some of them do…. (Photo by I. George Bilyk)
Definitely the Divers: Work by Bruce Gast, Randall Cleaver and Leslie Stuart Matthews. (Photos courtesy of the artists.)
Leo Sewell’s Lady Liberty tribute took three years to plan and construct. (Photo courtesy of Leo Sewell.) 
Leo constructs a flamingo in his studio. The bird and its partner now grace the lobby of a Florida business building.
Twenty-eight smiling artists lit up our South Philadelphia windows last October to remind us that we really do have more in common than not.
Philadelphia’s first black newspaper columnist, Claude Lewis, during his Philadelphia Bulletin days. (Photo courtesy of the Lewis Family.)
Hirshman’s 1962 “The Duel” shows two combatants – deftly outlined in long strands of string – locked in eternal combat by the children’s scissors that bind them. Their matching physiques and identical button faces hint at a different type of duel – an internal one.
Unexpected Philadelphia 