Part 1. Collage research

Part 1  

Collage...............French word ‘to gum’

The cubists were the first to use collage as an integral part of their painting and which may have contributed to their exploration of spatial relationships not adhering to the rules of perspective that had dominated Western Art since the 15C. Picasso, Gris and Braque introduced bits of newspaper, wallpaper, and tablecloths into their still life compositions of Parisian bar life using such objects that might be found on a café or restaurant table. . Another common subject in Cubist work was the Spanish guitar, a part of Picasso and Gris’ culture and which may have become fashionable by bohemian Parisian life.

 It would be interesting to study the influence of the use of collage in the chronological development of cubism. Could the introduction of pieces of newspaper parallel to the picture plane have prompted mixed viewpoints or rather had photography released the artist from the bounds of realism into spatial experimentation?  The works of Picasso and Braque ‘roped together like mountaineers ‘(Braque) 1907-1914 were largely formal and pleasing in colour and balance often indistinguishable in style. The movement had a huge influence on Art through the 20C as branches of ideas evolved into futurism, surrealism and expressionism. Braque continued to explore the surface of his paintings exploring texture and colour with a presence of collage either physically or implied whilst Picasso reveled in the freedom that Cubism had  ‘uncorked’ toward expressionism.

With the proliferation of magazines and printed material Photomontage was the next development in the history of collage. The Dada and Surrealist movement picked up on the juxtaposition of incongruous imagery that the placement of pieces of paper taken from different sources next to one another. A fish on an ironing board or a fur cup and saucer reflected an increasingly unstable world and the Freudian theories on the subconscious. Matisse used collage like no other. Unable to paint in later life he made wonderful collages, with the help of assistants in the glueing process, using brightly coloured cut out sheets of poster paper.

The 60’s in Britain saw a renewed interested in collage with pop artists such as Peter Blake and Richard Hamilton and artists such as Warhol, Wesselmann, Rauschenberg in America found they could reflect on the modern world by borrowing imagery from common everyday  found perhaps in adverts and cinema

Artists have continued to use Collage in their work to the present day. The digital age has given the possibility of further innovation. Programmes such as photoshop permit the manipulation of imagery in innumerable ways creating the effect of collage but on a single sheet of paper.

Collage      

Research Work