Neal Harmon lives by the idiom “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” In his Highway Robbery Art Collection, the Oregon, Ohio artist creates industrial installations out of materials he collects off the side of the road.
Harmon developed the idea during conversations with his wife, Amy Beeler. “The joke was, as you get closer to Detroit on [Interstate] 75, to start a reality show based on people actually surviving[…] off of what they could find on the highway.” Harmon fused bungee cords, fender brushes and shreds of a truck tire into art. His first piece in the collection, “Unintended Consequences of Industry,” debuted at an industrial-themed show in Lima. The work sparked his creative energy.
“I can’t paint or draw, I don’t take pictures very well, I can’t work with metals or anything, but I want to create something,” he says.
“I’ve tried different things, but I think I’m onto something with the Highway Robbery collection.”
Highway finds
While inspiration isn’t difficult to find, securing the right materials can be a challenge. Except for a few background components, Harmon is adamant about using only highway deirtus. He’ll note debris during his day drives as a service technician and then come back at night to grab it. “I just find something and it strikes me how I can use that with another piece that I found, or [I] put on a search to find another one.” Which can mean lengthy pre-production — it took him five months to collect the 50 or so bungee chords used in his favorite piece, “Northbound on 75.” Even so, Harmon is selective about what he uses and trashes most of what he collects.
When he’s not scavenging, Harmon plans each piece ahead of time to make sure the construction goes smoothly. “It doesn’t take a long time to actually assemble the piece, maybe a day per piece, once I have the idea and I have the parts because I do put a lot of work into sketching it and laying it out,” he says.
Creative support
A piece isn’t finished until it earns the approval of Beeler, his strongest proponent and harshest critic. Beeler has won several awards for her seed pod jewelry, which has been featured in festivals and galleries around the country. She acts as Harmon’s accomplice during night runs to collect materials. “She’s my quality control because she actually has the art background. […] She’s just got a good eye.”
Beeler thinks the two feed off each other creatively. “If he wasn’t supportive of me I don’t think that I could have done it for as long as I have, and I think without me, I don’t know that he would have pursued it either. We needed each other to create.”
The couple’s teamwork was apparent at this year’s Art-o-matic 419!, where they shared a booth. “It’s an interesting combination that you don’t expect to see together,” Beeler says.
Debuting the collection at Art-o-matic 419! was important to Harmon, who says the feedback and reception there was excellent. Several pictures of his works popped up on local blogs and art websites, and multiple people complimented him on his work. “I had a guy write a little note that he liked the work and left it with the [Northbound] piece; he didn’t know that I was on the other side of the wall,” Harmon says.
He already has ideas for next year’s Art-o-matic 419!, but right now he’s focused on expanding his Highway Robbery collection. “Northbound on 75” is currently on display at PRIZM’s 2013 Art-A-Fair at the Fifth Third Building, One Seagate, and he’s reached out to several galleries about displaying his work. He also applied to adopt a two-mile stretch of highway to more easily secure materials for future work.
“Since I know that I’m onto something with the Highway Robbery art collection and I’m excited about it, this is what I’m going to stick with,” Harmon says. “I think I finally found what I want to keep doing.”
