A Most Exquisite Corpse

I've been working on an Exquisite Corpse collaboration with collage artist Adrian Jugaru of Romania (http://jugadi.deviantart.com), and if that doesn't bring on performance anxiety, I don't know what will. For those who don't know, an Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative piece of work where the preceding person's work is covered up except for by about an inch before it goes to the next person. That means you're creating a poem or a collage or a whatever from a very narrow margin. And you're not allowed to peek under the covering attached by the previous person. What fun would that be? Adrian and I each began a collage for the other, and we agreed that we should prepare the entire background before sending. This would give the other a feel for the vibe of the piece as well as color clues. The collage shown here is the one prepared by Adrian and finished by me.

See that pencil line in the photo above? That marks the top inch of Adrian's collage. I started my work in that inch, adding color and the arrow and box to the top of the hat shape provided by Adrian.

This overview shows the cover that Adrian taped on the collage (the collage measures 6-1/2 x 9-3/4 in.). Since I decided to continue with Adrian's “fishy” theme, I figured some fish stamps from South Africa and a recycled tag might come in handy.

The shot above shows how things looked after playing around with various arrangements and then gluing down the pieces.

I didn't know what was under the cardboard (I didn't peek, I promise!), but I did know that I wanted to send down some blue streaks, if nothing more than to make sure there was some unity between the sections of the collage. So I watered down some ink and, by flexing the cardboard and shaking the collage, was able to get some dripping action going. Because the ink is transparent, I figured it wouldn't obliterate anything that Adrian had glued beneath. I don't know if this broke Exquisite Corpse protocol, but I wound up dripping ink in three places.

And then it was done and it was time for the moment of truth!

When I saw this I was absolutely delighted! What fun! What serendiptiy! I loved how my verticals just so happened to complement Adrian's sword. I loved how the bird mask on Adrian's man worked with my theme of a predatory earth. (That big black tag is the earth, folks!) And I loved the watery ink drips.

Here is the finished piece. If you ever have occasion to participate in an Exquisite Corpse project, I say go for it! It's nerve-wracking to be sure, but there is something entirely magical in the moment when you reveal what lies waiting just beneath the surface.

And, again, as always, thanks for listening.