New Collages IV

Here's the last of the new collages I've been working on.


Like the ones in my previous post, these are simple collages made by pasting one or two appropriated images on top of an original snapshot.


These have been fun, so much so that while I really should be working on other things (I have a show in June to prepare for), I keep going back to collages. I have three partially completed collages sitting next to me as I write this.


It had been a while, I'd forgotten how much I enjoy collage.

New Collages III

Here's a few more recent collages. Like the other collages I've posted here recently, I set some rules for myself before starting work on these.


The rule here was simple: Start with an original (snapshot sized) photo, and add only one or two elements.


The result is collages that are very simple, but I think they are oddly effective.


Unfortunately, I've become busy with teaching duties, and I have to concentrate on making work for an upcoming exhibition I'm doing this June. So, I've put collages aside for now. I do have a few more of these, I'll post them soon.

New Collages II

Here are a few more of my recent collages. I talked about my inspiration and ground rules in my last post, but to recap, I was using old snapshots and purposefully keeping things simple. After making a few collages with varying degrees of success, I hit upon the idea of pairing an entire photo with an image from a magazine. I had a couple old issues of the New York Times Style magazine lying around, so used those as source material.

My first one is at the top of this post. I’m happy with how it turned out.

Here’s my second one:


I like this one even more. It’s probably my favorite of these collages.

Here’s two more, completed on the same day:




The one with the blue car is my least favorite of these, but even then, I like it. There’s probably a bit of John Stezeaker in these collages, but I think these are more concerned with pareidolia or pattern recognition than Stezeker’s work.

I’ll post more collages soon. Keep looking!

New Collages

Here are some new collages. I started working on them over my recent semester break, and have continued with them (when I have the time and energy) now that school has resumed.

My inspiration with these was my sorting through a large crate full of snapshots I’ve taken over the past twenty-five years or so. I started pulling out the photos not worth saving; poorly exposed or focused ones, blurry shots, boring photos, etc. After combing through the entire crate, I found I had a stack of at least a hundred prints, and decided to do something with them.

I rarely collage with original photos. I enjoy the influence of appropriation and recontextualization on content in collages, and that isn’t as evident in collages made from my own photos.

Knowing this, I decided I needed to set a couple of rules for myself to make these collages work. First, every collage I made had to include at least one original photo (or part of one). Second, these collages were to be simple, and overly complex compositions avoided. Third, I limited how I cut, preferring geometric shapes to cutting around the contours of objects. Lastly, I worked intuitively, not worrying about content or meaning and focusing entirely on composition and how the collages looked.

The first one I made is at the top of this post. I like this one quite a bit, although my partner referred to it as “Baldessari meets Mondrian”. I can see that, but I still like it.

I made a second, similar piece, and while I don’t hate it I’m not real happy with it:


For some reason I can’t put my finger on, it reminds me of the ‘80’s.

I went in a different direction for the third collage:


I like the idea here, but think this could be a little better. I wish it were a little neater, and the intuitive approach didn’t quite work. I want to think think this through some more before doing any more like it.

My next several collages are quite a bit more interesting and successful to me. I’ll post these in a couple of days.