A short break then onwards...

Edouardo Rueda
Edouardo Rueda
Edouardo Rueda
A short break in studies last week to visit Paris. Whilst there, two major disappointments.... couldn't get into the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition at the Musee de Art Moderne at the Palais de Tokyo and the Musee Picasso was closed - for two years for a total refurb. Still managed to pick up a good book in a discontinued print shop on Boulevard St Michel on Edouardo Rueda. I has seen some of his work some years ago but with my current interests in collage, his work seems more relevant and inspirational. He lists the many well known's as his influences such as Schwitters, Cornell, Hoch, Brownfield and there is evidence in his work of this. I was interested to see his 3D 'collage' and division of space with textured metal/wood. Some further ideas here to consider.

The visit also gave me the opportunity to collect more ephemera and photographs of abstract street graphics; using the camera to viewfind type/signs and textures. As I process these I will post at a later date.

Babel into paint

... There are official searchers, inquisitors.

...There are official searchers, inquisitors.
... There are official searchers, inquisitors.
After further artist research moving on with collages and considering the addition of further media - paint, crayon and working back into photocopies of original collages. This is providing some alternative outcomes and I am about to embark on a small mixed media painting based on one of the earlier collages for this project. More to to be posted on that later. For now a few samples of work covered over last couple of days.

On with random Babel

...verbal jumble and incoherences

...the true story of your death

Y'see
Instructions
China Preacher
94
15 at B
After some research and inspiration on to another set of collages. A short series developed from "Sector 1594" form last week. I have cropped sections from this collage and then worked back into these collages with further mixed media - mainly collage paper. As I carry out these I am beginning to realise the potential of some of the images for prints. I plan to experiment with digital output from the scanned collages to develop positives for screen printing.

Further collage artist research

Gustav Klutsis
David Wallace
Martin O'Neil
Michael Pajon
Paul cava
Paul Cava
John Slezaker

Time to take a short break from making and look at the work of other collage artists. I am becoming aware of the breadth of the collage process as I expand my research. There is so much out there and I am finding some of the work unbalanced and seemingly random in assembly. I am drawn to artists who are using found and aged ephemera,particularly those who are dealing with the aesthetic of balance and space. From this criteria David Wallace (www.salczar.com) and Martin O'Neil are at the top of the list for me at present.

The emerging difficulty is sourcing suitable artists for reference from which to select for further inspiration in the development and consideration of my own personal approaches. There is so much out there! As I am becoming more confident in developing my collage work I am keen to use these outcomes as starting points for further processes; potential for the development of print from collage images and possibly small paintings in the style of Dan Reisinger are a current thread of investigation.

Following a discussion With Brendan Reid earlier in the week about the direction of my collage work I have been looking at the work of John Stezaker and relating his work to that of a few other collage/montage artists. Stezaker’s work considers juxtapositions of combined images, often incorporating landscape into portraits or human figures matching visual planes for effect and balance.His collages give a similar impression to the earlier photo montage work of Gustav Klutsis who was acclaimed for his spatial constructions in the Constructivist style and was one of the pioneering developers of Photomontage in the early 1920’s.

Paul Cava’s work is photo based and he works in a similar way to Stezaker. His collage work concentrates on the human figure and body using sensual and fluid juxtapositions of photographs with limited additional mark making. He has exhibited paintings, drawings and photo-based works from 1976 to the present in galleries and museums in the United States and Europe.

Michael Pajon’s work contemplates a variety of discarded ephemera: old matchbooks, antique postcards,books, and sheet music from a great aunt’s collection. His work collages ephemera from these sources and more with small elements building up the finished image.

I have include here another example from my current favourites: Martin O’Neil’s work appears regularly in the press – Guardian and as book jacket designs. “If Peter Blake is the Paul McCartney of collage, then O’Neill is its Tom Waits, a pre-digital artist for a post-digital age. “ 
John L Walters Eye Magazine.

David Wallace is still an inspiration. His sense of balance using a limited number of elements is inspiring.

To digitally enhance or not

Continuing with last weeks theme of 'Library of Babel' and my current intention to illustrate a series of selected phrases from the text, I am further considering whether collages should remain 'untouched' or be supplemented by digital addition. From the most recent artist research I have carried out it is clear that Sarah Hanson's collage work is in preparation for digital additions whereas Martin O'Neil, whose work I think I prefer, receives little digital adjustment. One recurring factor is the need for a growing library of ephemera from which to build successful collage!

I have posted my most recent 'Library of Babel' collage here (work in progress) in both untouched and digitally supplemented versions.

Developing Collage

During a studio session I looked at collage and considered further effects that can be achieved by scaling up results by photocopying and then selecting cropped areas of the enlarged images. after making enlargements ( some as big as 600% on a colour copier)of some of my previous 'Library of Babel' collages from the previous week I cut some 'viewfinders' to select considered areas of the collages that might stand alone in their balance of 2D space. I have worked initially with decreasing 'A'sizes - right down to A9 (if that exists!), and the square of the 'A' size. This has allowed me to consider organisation of space within the collages. From this I have produced a series of cut-out 'image selections' which I have recorded. Following this I have selected a couple of the results which I feel have a good aesthetic balance and have scanned these in a 400% with a view to processing them further digitally to prepare some suitable resolutions for screenprinting.The possibilities for re-rendering either digitally or by re-printing digitally and re-working with other media are now growing! I have posted a couple of starting points here which came from the 'like all men of the library, I have travelled in my youth...' collage.

Library of Babel

Following on from my initial collages on the theme of the Library of Babel I have re-read the text and considered further collages as illustrations of elements of the text. In terms of style I have been looking again at the work of MartinO'Neil and Sarah Hanson for inspiration and mthods of visual research. I have considered a series of illustrations based on the dimensions of Filofax pages; selecting sentences form the text to work with. In doing this I am considering the effect of continuity that might be achieved by seeing the pages of illustrations develop a building representation of the text.

In doing this I am also exploring the differences between the purely handmade quality of the original collages and that of  further digital manipulation of  these works. Can the addition of digital mark making and colourising (in the way that Sarah Hanson works) improve upon the originals or des this digital 'interference' somehow spiol or interfere with the original image generation. Attached are examples of the first three collages after digital additions.