found object
Art from debris
A found object is an ordinary item—natural or manufactured—that an artist presents as art with little or no modification.
A piece of driftwood, a discarded wheel, a rusted key: the artist's act of selection and display transforms mundane objects into aesthetic statements.
The concept challenges traditional notions of artistic creation and craftsmanship.
Also called by the French term *objet trouvé*.
Prepared in advance
- assemblageCollected group of things
- sculptureShaped three-dimensional art
- collageAssembled mixed-media artwork
- installationProcess of putting in
Duchamp · appropriation · Dadaism · Surrealism · mixed media · bricolage · junk art · outsider art
Likelihood of occurrence
- happenstanceUnplanned circumstance
- coincidenceUnplanned matching of events
- accidentalOccurring by chance
- flukeChance stroke of luck
serendipity · fortuity · unplanned · spontaneous · unexpected · luck · discovery · stumbled upon
Adapt for new use
- salvageRecovering damaged goods
- reclaimedTaken back; salvaged
- reuseEmploy something again
- sustainabilityCapacity to endure indefinitely
resourceful · second-life · eco-friendly · creative reuse · rescued · scavenged · discarded · castoff
Human-made historical object
- relicPreserved ancient object
- fossilPreserved ancient organism
- treasureValued wealth or keepsake
- excavationAct of unearthing
dig · unearth · ruins · antiquity · tomb · sarcophagus · inscription · ceramics
readymade
Prepared in advance
- assemblageCollected group of things
- sculptureShaped three-dimensional art
- collageAssembled mixed-media artwork
Duchamp · installation · appropriation · Dadaism · Surrealism · mixed media · bricolage · junk art · outsider art · conceptual art
chance
Likelihood of occurrence
- happenstanceUnplanned circumstance
- coincidenceUnplanned matching of events
- accidentalOccurring by chance
fluke · serendipity · fortuity · unplanned · spontaneous · unexpected · luck · discovery · stumbled upon · random encounter
repurpose
Adapt for new use
sustainability · resourceful · second-life · eco-friendly · creative reuse · rescued · scavenged · discarded · castoff · junkyard
artifact
Human-made historical object
excavation · dig · unearth · ruins · antiquity · tomb · sarcophagus · inscription · ceramics · coin
- art formspainting, drawing, sculpture, photography, music
- art termspainting, sculpture, drawing, portrait, landscape
- Art Jargoncurator, gallerist, provenance, oeuvre, vernissage
- sculpturestatue, sculpture, sculptor, sculpting, bronze
- art techniquespainting, drawing, sketching, shading, blending
- artworksoil painting, watercolor, portrait, drawing, sketch