Salvage Business Turns Scrap Junk into ‘Junque’

By Mark Hoerrner

Art competitions all over the world bestow honors on those who can craft the sublime from a mere concept. The best and brightest of the film world are honored at Cannes and by the Academy Awards. Innovators in television are presented with either Emmys or Peabody medals. But only the best of the best, the brightest of the scavenger elite — those intrepid souls who don’t see just an old refrigerator coil or a 1965 Buick hubcap, but the makings of an insect, an animal or a wildlife scene — can claim the prize at the annual Junque’ Yard Sculpture Contest.

Like the three amigos of salvage and recycling, brothers Evan, Chip and Henry Koplin run the 86-year-old Macon Iron, also known as the Scrap Market, acting as the primary recycling depot in the Macon area. Macon Iron handles not just scrap metal but also paper goods, plastics and serves as the curbside recycling company for many local communities.

To the Koplin family, recycling is a way of life, not just an avocation. It’s not surprising that the brothers, in conjunction with local college art professors, laughingly concocted the idea of holding an annual contest that would challenge college students to turn Macon Iron’s junk into "junque"—innovative works of art. These sculptures have included insects, animals, people and conceptual pieces featuring all three. Students from universities all over Georgia participate in the contest.

"For years, we would have professors like Gary Blackburn from Mercer come by and comb the scrap yard for items to use in his art classes," Evan Koplin said. "Gary and I developed a relationship and five years ago, decided that we should hold some sort of junk-based contest."

The company awards first, second, and third place individual awards to college students that total $1,000. Last year’s winners consisted of a student from each school.

"We also have teams that compete and when the teams win," Koplin said, "we send the money to the schools to be used for scholarships. Georgia Southwestern won all three places last year, so their foundation received a $1,000 check."

The contest has grown considerably since its initial beginnings, and art students have begun to incorporate more artistic elements, including hand-blown glass components, into the sculptures. The sculptures gained so much attention that the now-closed SciTrek Museum in Atlanta had a number of the sculptures on display.

"What constantly amazes us," Koplin muses, "is the level of creativity and how it seems to increase with each year. The students are ingenious designers and are able to see things lying around the yard and visualize just what the things can become."

Currently, the contest is only open to college students. Koplin says, however, that he has received requests from professional artists to join in the competition and the company is considering expanding the scope of the contest, noting that the challenge comes in balancing the conduct of business with a charitable contest. For more information and to find out where to view the sculptures from this and previous years’ contests, visit Macon Iron at www.thescrapmarket.com.