Collage. The very word makes me nervously check my fingers for stickiness.
Some initial reading and investigation has broadened my understanding of the widely varying ends supported by collage and assemblage.
A whole range of materials, real world elements – fabric, paper, bits of ephemera – all arranged and glued on a surface. The potential for invention. Transforming. Tension of previous and changed states.
Mary Delany
Poinciana Pulcherrima (Decandria Monogynia)
© Trustees of the British Museum
Picasso, Braque, Juan Gris.
Eric Wilson.
What would it be like to play with a non-flat supporting surface – corrugated cardboard or an apple tray?
Kurt Schwitters
Raoul Hausmann
Max Ernst, Roland Penrose
James Gleeson
Sidney Nolan, quilted engravings
Eduardo Paolozzi, Richard Hamilton (note later digital work)
Jacques Mahé de la Villeglé, Raymond Hains, François Dufrêne, Arman, Yves Klein, Jean Tinguely
Formal exploration:
David Aspden. Colour and shape arrangements. Use of torn edge – three dimensional quality.
Rosalie Gascoigne (assemblages). Imaginative associations, evocative.
Spiritual realm:
Rose Nolan, Eugene Carchesio
Political themes:
Katherine Hattam (autobiographical, feminist), Tony Albert
Layla Curtis
Barry Martin Movement Collage (1965) Representations of movement – selection of images, orientation and placement circling the centre, torn edges, angles all build speed and motion, sculptural potential of the surface. links to pop art and nouveau réalisme.
Nigel Henderson http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/henderson-collage-t01915. Really drawn to this work, and to the explanation of the artist’s process and ideas in the full catalogue entry. Scrutinising or looking into something that has caught his attention, disturbed him. Building up fields of interesting visual data from which you may assemble later. Enlarging, stacking, linking up lines in oil paint… Fits with my intention of creating base materials with printing, but with additional depth of relationship.
Robert Klippel. Sculpture and collage symbiotic.
Response
I’m definitely drawn to the more abstract formal explorations. Nigel Henderson’s work and that of Elwyn Lewis which I saw at AGNSW last night particularly excite.
To break the ice I decided to use known source material and focus on pattern. A plain background with textured but flat collage materials.
* Base: a large buff yellow envelope, opened out.
* Collage materials: mono-printed brushmarks on newspaper. Painted lines based on previous nude sketches. Lines cut out with a scalpel (I briefly tried tearing them out, but with all the texture of the newsprint and the brushmarks a crisper line looked better).
collage 20160922
I like the flat texture. Much time was spent trying out arrangements and there was some unintended shifting during the pasting process. Overall it’s quite lively and some interesting shapes created. There’s some flow and movement. I tried an overall arrangement but marginally preferred leaving that area on the left so I could move up to the right. Not entirely successful.
There is some lifting in a couple of places creating shadow lines which detract from the flatness. Some of the combinations where different pieces of paper overlap are clumsy. That piece of coloured newsprint centre right was unintended. I quite like it – just wish it was intentional.
collage 20160922 detail
Having an initial overview of the terrain, I’ll start researching artists whose work particularly attracts me. I’d like to devise a brief based on each, making my own explorations.
Resources
Helen Campbell (2016 a) “Stuck on you” In Look Art Gallery Society of New South Wales 0916
Helen Campbell (2016 b) Art of parts: collage and assemblage from the collection Art Gallery NSW [online] http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/artsets/6mga1g
Tate Collage http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/collage
