I made this big print at the request of one of my daughters and her college roommates. They wanted to display it on a wall in their apartment. It works well there, actually. (Yes, I checked.) I like the image just fine big, which I knew I would, but, geez, I find so much to hem and haw about in the details. Or lack thereof. I think that this must be a Traditional Collage Thing. When viewed as a print, the details go all paunchy. The shadowlines go fugitive. Cuts that might nettle a viewer's response in real life (such as the breast scarification in this piece), look merely bland, like a good nose job in Los Angeles. The décollage? When viewing the original it's clear that some fool rubbed off her fingerprints getting that texture just so and if one is lucky, the viewer may just be drawn in enough to ask why. But you don't even see the décollage in a print. We won't even go into the color values....
My bottom line: A print of a traditionally made collage is like listening to My Morning Jacket in monaural format.
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| Tool Series: #1 Pink Cuff, paper collage with décollage on 6x8 canvas board, at left. Big-ass print on right. |
Notice that I deliberately have been inserting the descriptor "traditionally made" when I speak about my work. As usual, in these sorts of ruminative matters, there are tentacles that stretch out in many directions. Not everybody works "traditionally" anymore. In the collage community currently there is intriguing discussion on the parameters that define the medium of collage as we have known it. How much paper is enough paper? Should glue be measured by the pound? Is digital collage really "collage"? I read these discussions avidly, though I can't contribute much since I have only a primitive working relationship with digital media at the moment. But I can't help wondering if at some point the way you get there becomes less important than what you speak and what you spark.
In other words, if what you have to say happens to be best expressed through paper and glue and scissors and knives and even rubbing off your fingerprints in the spirit of décollage ... and what you create speaks to hearts enough to be requested for daily living with ... what the heck does it matter if the shadowlines look like they were made with thick Micron pens?
These are initial thoughts and I apologize for the lack of sophistication. Art is a journey. More to follow. Thanks for listening.
13 comments:
Time twin: I hear you. There's something magical about textural art. The lumps and bumps give it life and history. I also love using original images rather than copies (but I still use copies sometimes). Maybe it's a vibratory rate imbued in the pieces making up the final product that adds a special something. You just can't beat an original collage!
I crave the sight of the hand of the maker in the work. Back in my woodworking days, bowl turners had a joke about leaving in a ding or other imperfection as "one for Allah," meaning that there would be no chance of that smite-out-of-spite thing that the Gods are sometimes known to do. ;)
Well, I think it goes without saying that, just as with a print of a painting, a print of a traditional collage can't hold a candle to the original. The three dimensions, the presence of the original materials, the evidence of the artist's actions, the uniqueness, none of that is there. The print is just a shadow. But on the other hand, at the end of the day there can be only one original, and prints mean more people can have the work in some form, which is better than not at all. And if people appreciate that, well, who's to complain?
Yes, a print of a collage is like a perfectly still lake reflecting the sky. Everything on the surface is serene and accurate, but you know underneath it all there's another world you're not privy to. But yes, whose to complain if a print is used to share the art .... it works with art books, art magazines and even gallery catalogues ...
Dan and Stephen, clearly right about all that. Appreciate the comments. I think that sometimes I think too much.
what a wonderful piece...
Thank ya kindly, CG!
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I appreciate your comment, Terry. Thank you!
The evidence of the artist's actions, the uniqueness, none of that is there. The print is just a shadow. But on the other hand, at the end of the day there can be only one original, and prints mean more people can have the work in some form, which is better than not at all for know more click here.
Thanks, Terry, and in fact along the line, because of what you have aptly described as "the end of the day," I did, only a few weeks ago, wind up rethinking my position. The upshot is that I now offer my work as prints at both Redbubble and Society6. And iPhone cases, too. I am as much a work in progress as the works I create, with thoughts ever evolving, always evolving....
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Thank you, TM! Appreciate the comment, and glad you liked the post.
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