Mark Langan is an artist who is living in Cleveland, Ohio. He is skilled in many different artistic mediums. Since 2004, he has focused on making art out of cardboard. He uses corrugated boxes, a mat, a cutting edge, a razor knife, and non-toxic glue. With these, he turns the cardboard boxes into amazing works of sculpture. While making cardboard art does use up a good bit of the boxes that people throw out, Mark Langan will be the first to say that it doesn’t do as much as needs to be done in the move to recycle and reduce what goes into landfills. However, he says it is something and that’s better than nothing is, and cardboard art certainly draws attention to the fact that the boxes are much more useful than to just fill up dumpsters and landfills. It really helps draw attention to the recycling movement.

While many sculptors struggle to find those who appreciate their art, Mark Langan has had a good bit of success finding venues where his cardboard art is appreciated. He has had sculptures commissioned by both large and small business firms throughout the United States, some of them very well known. Recycling firms, packaging companies, various manufacturers, and other industries and organizations all have asked for his sculptures to represent their logo, company, or simply to decorate their lobbies. Some companies even have his cardboard art hanging in their boardrooms and perhaps this helps to remind them to pay a little more attention to the environment in the work that they do.

While cardboard may be a surprising medium and may be in abundant supply, it is not the easiest medium for an artist to work with. To make his amazing sculptures, Mark Langan sometimes spends up to 100 hours working on each piece. He carefully cuts the cardboard into the shapes and designs he desires, and then glues them into position. It is careful and precise work, requiring the kind of patience that many people simply don’t have. Thanks to this, and Mark Langan’s amazing creativity, there are unique cardboard art sculptures for everything from a homage to a painting to corporate logos for famous TV shows. Some of his pieces are even interpretative to religion, and these are not only celebrating the religion, but bring new life to religious stories by using symbolism to represent different aspects, all in a beautiful sculpture that draws the eye and forces the mind to understand.

While Mark Langan doesn’t particularly like the term "green art" many people revere him for making artwork that is good for the environment and good for people’s minds, as many people are simply amazed at what can be created from simple cardboard boxes. Unless you see his sculptures up close, it is impossible to tell that they are made from cardboard. Many look as though they have been carved. It is not until you get up close that you can see the intricate details in each piece and truly appreciate the beauty of cardboard art.