Collage Contemporary Artists Hunt and Gather, Cut and Paste, Mash Up and Transform

281 Pages·2014·24.32 MB·English

by  by Danielle Krysa (Author)

Copyright © 2014 by Danielle Krysa.
Foreword copyright © 2014 by Anthony Zinonos.
Artist statements, bios, and artwork
copyright © by the individual artists.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
any form without written permission from the publisher.
Page 176 constitutes a continuation of the copyright page.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2480-3 (pb)
ISBN: 978-1-45213035-4 (epub, mobi) Design by Kristen Hewitt
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CONTENTS
FOREWORD by Anthony Zinonos
7
INTRODUCTION by Danielle Krysa
10
THE CHALLENGE
13
LARISSA HAILY AGUADO
17
MARÍA APARICIO PUENTES
20
MARK BRADLEY-SHOUP
27
HOLLIE CHASTAIN
30
LISA CONGDON
34
MATTHEW CRAVEN
39
ANDREA D’AQUINO
44
KATRIEN DE BLAUWER
51
JESSE DRAXLER
56
HOLLY GABORIAULT
63
CLEMENS HABICHT
66
BETH HOECKEL
73
MICOSCH HOLLAND
78
JP KING
85
KHÁNH H. LÊ
88
KATHRYN MACNAUGHTON
93
PETER MADDEN
98
ARIS MOORE
105
VINCENT PACHECO
108
FRANCISCA PAGEO
113
LILLIANNA PEREIRA
118
CIARA PHELAN
125
MAHMOOD POPAL
128
JOSE ROMUSSI
133
ADRIENNE SLANE
138
XOCHI SOLIS
145
FABIEN SOUCHE
148
BRANDI STRICKLAND
153
BILL ZINDEL
158
ANTHONY ZINONOS
165
ARTIST BIOS
168
IMAGE CREDITS
176
FOREWORD
BY ANTHONY ZINONOS
The very first collage I remember making was a ransom note to my parents.
The note read: “We have your children—send £2,500,000.” My sister and I
never did receive that money. We hid in the back garden for a few hours until
we got bored and hungry, then returned to the house acting as though
nothing had happened. This has stuck in my memory, not just because of the
unimaginable things the ten-year-old me planned to do with my share of
money, but also because the process of leafing through stacks of magazines
and newspapers trying to find the correct letters to make the note got me
hooked.
I have always been drawn to process-heavy art making, spending hours in
darkrooms printing photographs, prepping silk screens and plates for
printing or working on sheet after sheet of a great big pile of papers to later
capture and make an animation that lasts for only twenty-five seconds. The
obsessive-compulsive side of me—the side that likes order and organization
—grabbed onto the medium of collage and ran for the hills. I discovered that
the constant searching for and collecting of new materials to use, and the
numerous hours spent trying to sort and arrange cut images, had my name
written all over it.
Over the last few years it seems that a “collage boom” has been taking place, a
rise in popularity that has led not just to an increase in people making collage
but to an influx of exhibitions, books, and blogs showcasing the diversity of
the medium. Collage is earning a well overdue level of respect as a legitimate
art form, instead of being thought of as just something for children to dabble
with in their early school years. The basic idea of an artist needing to draw,
paint, or sculpt is thrown out the window, and the scissors, scalpel, and glue
are welcomed with open arms.
I feel very lucky to be a part of this expansion in collage’s popularity. It has
given me the opportunity to take part in exhibitions throughout the world—
showing my work in small cities like Norwich in the United Kingdom, to
more exotic metropolises such as Quito, the capital of Ecuador. It has also
helped me to achieve commercial success as a collage illustrator. I could not
be happier making collages for a living. It enables me to do the work I love
every day of the week. Before the current renaissance, my own collage
process was slightly frowned upon by my tutors and peers during my art
school years. Only after graduating did I discover the tight-knit family of
other collage artists that was flourishing online. These artists provided
inspiration and encouragement and were always willing to share their
process tips, methods, and work. There is something about collage that
breeds collaboration. Indeed, it seems to be the perfect medium for
collaborative projects. Working together with other collage practitioners
opens the artist’s eyes to the different processes and methods employed by
others and teaches the individual about his or her own work, and how it is
read and perceived by others.
theKAMIKAZEbarons, 2012, collage on paper
We currently live in a very digital society, spending most of our day attached
to a computer, tablet, or smartphone, navigating through virtual pages with a
click of a button or the swipe of a finger. This may be one reason for the
recent surge in popularity of collage and other forms of craft. It may be that
people feel the need to make things by hand again, to physically touch and
create something outside of their day-to-day digital lives. Mass-produced
goods can be perceived as somewhat heartless and ordinary, whereas the
satisfaction of creating something with one’s own hands is priceless. There is
more room for error and this so often leads to unexpected, but frequently
beautiful, mistakes. These mistakes can and should be embraced, because
they often give rise to new ideas and therefore encourage progression in the
work.
I love collage because it is such a tactile process. I feel a connection to the
materials that I’m using through handling and manipulating, and enjoy
making them my own. The restrictions of working with collage materials is,