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The
Meaning of Collage
Collage is our
most modern art form. Its art history spans almost 100 years.
Modern masters like Picasso, Matisse, Pollack and Motherwell were
collage artists, and their collage masterpieces (and the collages
of other great moderns) are displayed in the greatest museums
throughout the world.
What
is the origin of collage?
It all started in
France in 1912 when Picasso introduced collage into one of his oil
paintings – he glued a piece of wood grain wallpaper into the
picture plane. The intent was to create a pictorial enigma.
Picasso’s invention led to a radical change in our perception of
art. Other artists were inspired to follow in Picasso’s
footsteps, to explore the materiality of paper and other collage
additions to their paintings. Shortly photomontage evolved as a
genre; artists like Kurt Schwitters incorporated text and found
papers into formalist abstract works (the collage was the work).
Collage led to photomontage, surrealism, dadaism, constructivism,
and to other 20th century art movements throughout
Europe and the United States.
Collage changed
our perception of what great art is and what great art can look
like. Collage gave modern artists permission to explore what art
can be.
Where
did the word collage come from?
Picasso called
his work “papiers colles” (in French) – which translates
into “pasted papers.” The name colle/collage stuck and the
collage genre was born.
Who
were the major collage artists?
Famous European
artists who have worked in collage include Pablo Picasso, George
Braque, Henri Matisse, Max Ernst, Jean Arp, Raoul Hausmann, Hannah
Hoch, Marcel Duchamp, El Lissitzky, Carlo Carra, Jean Dubuffet,
and Kurt Schwitters (and many others). Collage has become part of
every major European artistic movement of the 20th
century – cubism, futurism, expressionism, dadaism, surrealism,
constructivism, etc.
American artists
associated with collage were not necessarily associated with major
art movements (like dadaism or surrealism), but developed
independent styles and followings. The list of American artists
who have worked in collage include Joseph Cornell, Man Ray, Robert
Motherwell, Romare Bearden, Alfonso Ossorio, Ann Ryan, Robert
Rauschenberg, Ray Johnson, Buster Cleveland, Robert Courtright,
Robert Goodnough, Jess, even Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner.
What
is collage – What can collage be?
Collage is hot.
Museums and galleries nationwide and internationally are showing
solo and group shows that focus on collage. Major shows are
scheduled, including a Romare Bearden retrospective that will
travel to museums throughout the US in 2004 and 2005.
Collage is our
most democratic art. Collage speaks a universal language. It’s
intent, through the materials and imagery it incorporates, is to
address our shared experiences in a way that connects us all. |
