This morning I am both amused at and slightly exasperated with myself. Yesterday, suffering from a mild case of cabin fever, I sallied forth to the art store in search of brushes and came home with Claudine Hellmuth’s book Collage Discovery Workshop. (I did remember to get the brushes.)
I’ve been acquiring books on collage for about two years now. I’ve been collecting all kinds of ephemera to use in collages for probably eighteen months. I still haven’t created – or even begun – a single paper collage. Hence the amusement and exasperation.
This morning, as I sat in bed reading through Claudine’s book, I tried to make some sense of why this is happening. Why I “can’t” arrange a collage in the current style. The techniques are certainly easy; just choose a collection of related images, arrange them, glue them down, then paint and distress until it’s done.
I think that perhaps it’s the juxtaposition of dissimilar images that I find unsettling and overly busy in so much of contemporary collage and altered books. I like the weathered, antiqued look of many pieces, and I like the use of words, both handwritten and printed. But when I try to think in those terms, my vision reverts to the clean and simple semi-abstraction that seems to characterize my work.
Even the one piece I did using written words is fairly simple (but I like it and it feels complete) :
I know, I should just go to the studio and play. But maybe I was just meant to admire the style and work with symbols instead of with others’ images.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments. Is there some artist’s work you admire but for some reason can’t bring yourself to work in that style?
February 22nd, 2005 at 11:06 am
I’ve heard great things about that book. I’m also attracted to the whole meduim of collage, but have never done any. The whole idea of paper and glue and gel medium is just beyond me. Give me fabric and thread. I prefer to attach things with seams. I have gathered a fair bit of ephemera too. I think your idea to just experiment is right on target. You’ll find your own style. I did do some fabric collages recently. You can see them at http://deborahsjournal.blogspot.com/2005/02/fabric-collages-at-least-thats-what-i.html They incorporate some of the stuff that is popular with collage artists, including words. But I keep them a bit more spare than a lot of the collage stuff you see. I love the flying pig. It’s a perfect combination of elements. I’m eager to see what you create with inspiration from Hellmuth and others!
February 22nd, 2005 at 11:21 am
I use collage techniques a lot in all of my artwork. Be it quilts or paper. And I think that what you are resisting is the “sameness” that pervades all of the paper arts magazines. Everything seems to be narrowing down to a 1,2,3 process which is boring and uncreative 1)vintage image (check), 2) Feather or button (check), 3) Incomprehensible background words (check). A whole lot of nothing going on. My advice is to Learn the Techniques, then Just Do Your Own Thing. Make art that you want to make, who cares if it is or isn’t in the current style.
February 22nd, 2005 at 6:31 pm
Julie, I think you nailed it! (Although if I’d just used a vintage pig, I’d have all three of your elements. [g])
Deborah, your “Grow” piece reminds me somewhat of Jane Davila’s work. Same feel without being fussy. Thank you for reminding me about them — I’d seen them when you first posted but didn’t make note of where they were located.
February 23rd, 2005 at 7:51 am
I have all the books. I got them online before seeing them in person. I was disappointed that all the work had the same look. I was approached by a publisher to take this altered book/collage paintings thing a step further and decided that it would be a distraction from my own work and said nyet. Funny how many art-loving people are swept up in this rage. I
can’t bear the sameness in all of it. I agree with Julie that it is formulaic.
However, if you do make something in this medium, then how do you display it? Framing? What about an altered book? I think the thing that enticed me originally was the cover of Artist’s Journals and Sketchbooks, with all its paint slopped on willy nilly. Perhaps doing one page would get it out of your system. I think this phase will dead end unless someone makes it something original SOON.
February 24th, 2005 at 7:18 am
I’ve found my own way to do collage in my ‘Snippets’ — but I agree that all this cutesy stuff with lace and ribbons all looks alike. The issue, I think, is less the process than how you integrate it into your own style. Hey, maybe it’s not for you. I wish I could do simple, geometric, bright, fun pieces: all form, no content. Can’t. They wouldn’t be mine.(and I say this,having just finished a piece that belies this satement at first glance) So, Carol, work the process till it’s yours — or till you throw your
hands up and go on with something else. You’ve discovered that it isn’t as easy as it looks as though it SHOULD be. But nothing is.
Rayna
February 24th, 2005 at 8:05 am
Carol, I love “crazy quilts”, and for years I have tried to “do that” but my pieces always look contrived and controlled. Guess it comes from being a middle brain person, the orderly accountant has a problem with random. My Christmas collage postcards took more time to creast then the process warranted.
February 24th, 2005 at 8:07 am
“more time to CREATE” my typing leaves something to be desired too!
February 25th, 2005 at 8:04 am
I too don’t care for the fractured feeling I get from many collages. My first attempted was to wallpaper a small bathroom with the funny papers and yellow pages using gloss gel medium. Interesting, for about a week. This new location has had
an unpainted bathroom for two years now. I plan on using torn, colored tissue paper. Folks will have to suppy their own reading materials.
February 25th, 2005 at 9:30 am
Carol,
Like you, I like the IDEA of collage. I just bought Nita Leland’s book… and Rosemary Eichorn’s book on fabric collage. And my goofy Thai-eating friends are all interested in altered books and such.. and, ofcourse Collage.
I’m partly put off by the thought of the stuff one has to have on hand just to have the proper “look” of an item. And most of the current collages I see are just so technically similar.
So, though I have the books.. and some general interest.. I think this is one fad that I will end up admiring from afar. Hmm… I wonder if I should take some of the collected ephemera and sell it on EBay?
February 26th, 2005 at 9:47 pm
Boy, does your entry sound familiar! I used make books and teach artist book making, and I loved looking at the collage books….but I just couldn’t do it. And then I realized that it was part of my style to not do that. And I liked looking at it (Claudine Hellmuth’s stuff is at the top of my list because her collages are relatively simple) but things have started looking the same.
February 27th, 2005 at 10:12 pm
I agree with the comments about many of the collage things looking alike. It’s similar to when a quilt technique becomes popular. But having said that, I love collage and altered books, they are play and idea generators for me. Collecting magazine clippings, sorting and layering them is great fun to me. And my art quilts are basically collages in fabric and embellishments, so for me it is not different. Red Dog Scott, the moderator/owner of a yahoo group Traveler’s H’art, hosts card deck projects where you create a 3×5 piece of art and a 3×5 text thing and reproduce it X number of times, she collates everyone’s contributions, then mails them back. You get fifty or sixty different little pieces of art, often collaged or sketched or rubber stamped, and being original it often shows great variation. We’ve done a Halloween deck, a colored pencil deck, a creative stimulation deck (quote and picture) and others. THese swap type projects are becoming essential for me, because they are new and fresh. I have for the most part outgrown technique books, and want those that show a variety of art. I would for collage/altered book stuff recommend Gwen Diehn’s the Decorated Page and Lynne Perella’s book, I can’t remember the title but it is fantastic. By working outside my usual media and experimenting, it helps me work with my fabric art. I’d love to be able to do spare, focused pieces – but it’s not me.
July 26th, 2006 at 7:55 am
[...] Thank you very much to everyone to commented on Tuesday’s post about collage. You’ve helped me clarify my thinking on the subject and put it firmly behind me. Collage can be nice, but at this point I don’t think it’s for me. [...]