Crazy Ray’s Furnishes Artscape Sanctuary

For the second year in a row, local scrapyard Crazy Ray's provided respite for Baltimore City festivalgoers.

During the three-day Artscape celebration over the weekend, chairs made from side mirrors and benches crafted out of old car seats invited people to sit down near the Charles Street Bridge.

“Crazy Ray’s believed in our idea to have artists take car parts and turn them into functional, sculptural seating where people could actually stop, relax, chill out and rest—not just feel like [they] have to keep going through the festival,” said Jim Lucio, visual arts coordinator for Artscape.

Especially on the Charles Street Bridge, near the “art cars” display, Lucio thought Crazy Ray’s would be a good fit.

He approached the business with the idea of a lounge in 2010. “They loved it,” said Lucio. “They’re super supportive.”

Skilled metalworkers created the furniture for the lounge with things like donated backseats and car hoods as their canvas. “It’s nice material for artists,” said Lucio.

Last year, Renee Tantillo filled the space with her creations, and this year, Peter Boyce and Andrew Yff’s pieces joined hers under the Crazy Ray’s Art Car Lounge tent on Charles Street. 

This year's setup was complete with a BMW hood-turned-table and cupholders.

“I wanted [people] to feel like they could stick around and enjoy it a little bit longer, and we need to accommodate that,” said Lucio of Artscape. “That was the idea—that I want people to stay.”

1-800-GOT-JUNK has been a partner much like Crazy Ray's, added Lucio. 

“They collected big clunky playhouses that eventually get neglected, and we had artists decorate them, paint them, repurpose them and create an exhibit we called 'Wonderland Estates,'" said Lucio.

“Basically it was this perfect collaboration,” he went on. “They’re taking things that nobody wants anymore, and we’re working together to repurpose them into things people do want."

Metals and plastics aren't the only materials being re-cycled. With sponsors and private contributors footing 40 percent of Artscape's cost and attendees collectively spending millions of dollars while there, the festival has an estimated economic impact on the Baltimore metropolitan area to the tune of $25 million, according to a 2009 study.

Speaking specifically of Crazy Ray's and 1-800-GOT-JUNK, said Lucio: “It’s a perfect match of sponsorship and creativity coming together ... I think that’s when magic happens.”