Even though there are various laws prohibiting it, street art and graffiti appear in practically every city in America and around the world. Some artists use it as a means of adding beauty to urban landscapes, while others use it simply to put their art in public spaces.

Junk. At least, that’s what we call it. George Herms, however, marvels at trash heaps and paper scraps, blank canvases awaiting his transformative touch. For nearly 60 years, the Beat-generation artist has drawn from a hodgepodge of discarded, seemingly mundane objects to craft a myriad of collages and sculptures.