DESERT EXPOSURE
ARTS EXPOSURE • J. SCOTT
What’s in Your Trash?
SEPTEMBER 2015 • 15 DE
6.092 W_7.5 H 2015
RED DOT Silver City
Tularosa artist makes found junk into refreshing treasure
WEEKENDS New Mexico
OCT 10, 11, 12 OCT 17, 18, 2015 10–5 DAILY • Private Studio Tours • 26 Art Galleries • Fall Scenery • Prizes
Michael Gruger allows himself to get lost in the moment as he creates his metal artwork. (Photo by J. Scott)
• Openings & Receptions • Great Silver City Restaurants
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Two Weekends – Twice the Fun!
aying in the dirt, among the scrub of the Tularosa Basin, there is a lot of junk. The rabbits hop over it. The roadrunners perch on it. The lizards use it for temporary residence. Michael Gruger picks
it up. This is a man who believes that there is a future potential use for almost anything. Items that have outlived their previous purpose and have been discarded — over time rusting and deteriorating. He doesn’t always know right away what exactly the potential might be and often has to look at something a few times before the vision is clear. Sometimes he just picks things up that he just really likes and has no idea why. Whatever it is, he picks it up, shakes off any unsavory stowaways and into his truck it goes. Upon arriving back home among the cottonwoods and acequia interspersed through the “original 49 blocks” of Tularosa, he places it thoughtfully among countless other items, on a neatly organized shelf or in a marked container or maybe into a miscellaneous pile that makes sense only to him. All of these found objects are fondly referred to as “inventory.” Gruger’s business name, “Things I See By MG” describes his perspective and gives some insight to what might distinguish him from other artists. A photographer, a sculptor, a crafter of water features – each item is fully his own As far as his hand-crafted pieces go – at a time when “junking” and “shabby chic” and DIY is all the rage, this artist is unapologetic in his commitment to keeping the junk junky. When barn wood, bailing wire and discarded exhaust manifolds are in such high supply – to Gruger, time and money are wasted on faux-aging wood with paint and wax and strategically applied sandpaper. It is in the imaginative repurposing and the final presentation of the items so close to their “as found” state that makes his work so appealing. The thing he first saw first on the desert floor, or in his favorite junk yard, comes to life in a new, inspired way. Gruger’s inspiration comes in many forms. Some of it is realized right away and some of it comes trickling in. Some inspiration comes from nature and how things occur when undisturbed. Some of it comes from historical evidence. The evolution of people and machinery is his primary inspiration. After living away from Tularosa for almost 30 years, in late 2014, the time was right for Gruger and his wife to close up their Albuquerque lives and rekindle their Tularosa life. Michael left a stable job as warehouse and logistics manager for a manufacturing and distribution company after 22 years. “We love living in Tulie,” Gruger said. “It’s where I was born and raised and where both my wife and I have lots of family. The move has allowed me the time and space to work on art that has been floating around in my head.” As a new face on the craft show circuit, he really appreciates talking to other artists, of all ages, and seeing their creations. “I was just at the Otero County Fair and I saw some art from an elementary school on display,” he said. “There was a lot of inspiration just hanging on those walls.” Whether sculpture, wood work, photography, metal work, jewelry or anything that is created with hands and thoughtfulness, Gruger appreciates the process. Getting feedback from people is inspiring, whether it is good, bad or indifferent. “As artists we can never appeal to everyone but it’s all the input and reaction to something that moves us to continue to create,” he said. A favorite at any show and currently his top-selling items are the water features making up the “Garden Symphony Series.” They are so named
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