Destroying computer keys is part of Erik Jensen’s process. He’s an artist who takes these hard-to-recycle pieces and turns them into pixelated artworks. Just one of his artworks can consist of up to 40,000 keys. That’s about 460 keyboards. Each key is carefully dyed and placed in exactly the right spot, so that when you look from afar, all the tiny squares will come together to form a full picture.

His technique is similar to pointillism, which was popular in the 1880s, but instead of paint and dots arranged to create a picture, the square keys mimic pixels. He calls this tech-pointillism. Erik has used this technique to recreate famous paintings, like Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” and Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.”

Using keys means that his pieces have to follow a strict grid pattern, like real pixels on a computer screen. And since each key is a specific and unchangeable size and shape, he has to figure out how to create curves without physically cutting off pieces of the square. That’s the hardest part of his process. Imagine trying to make a circle using a bunch of squares. So how exactly does it happen? Erik has to blend the edges without causing the picture to become too blurry.

To read the full story, visit https://www.insider.com/artist-mimics-famous-paintings-with-recycled-keyboards-2020-5.
Authors: Guilia Hjort and Janet Lie, Insider
Photo: Insider

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