Collage Art
Here's a new collage, entitled "Osmosis," just completed, still unvarnished and unsigned at the moment of this snapshot. Constructed on a cradled wood panel, it measures 20 x 10 x 1."
This is a very casual photo, but it shows how I typically wrap the collage elements around the edges of the wood support so that the work can be left unframed, if desired. I'll post a final photo to the Color Constructs gallery on my website soon.
This is the collage that I ended up sending to the National Collage Society's Postcard / Small Works Show. Hard to capture in a photograph, but the area above the plant spiral is a piece of dull silver leaf.
It was great to hear that "Green Spot" has earned an award from juror Craig Lucas, Kent State University Emeritus Professor. The award-winning collages, all 4 x 6" format, are posted online here for your browsing pleasure. The show, consisting of about 140 pieces, continues through July 25th at the Mansfield Art Center in Mansfield, Ohio.
I especially like the look of Jaynie Crimmins' piece, "Explosion of Debt," and the thinking behind it. More detailed views of her highly textural collage and encaustic work are on her website.
Above: "Green Spot," 4 x 6," contemporary paper collage on watercolor paper. © 2010, Janice McDonald.
Took this photo of my current work in progress yesterday. It's hard to tell where the collage begins and all the intriguing bits of paper end. For scale, the wood panel I'm working on is 10 x 10 x 1"... so there are lots of little elements being considered, set aside, ripped further, reconsidered, rearranged, discarded. Everything on the board is already glued down, everything else is just jockeying for position!(Addendum: the finished piece is written up in my blog here.)
I had the good fortune to attend a lecture by Christo on Wednesday. He was discussing his proposed "Over the River" project to be sited in Colorado's Arkansas River Valley in 2013, hopefully. His visual record of previous projects and stories were wonderful. A series of collages, hand done, that he has produced to show the effect of the fabric covering portions of the river, were stunning. Sales of these preliminary works completely fund the eventual installation.
The amount of work that is done to research potential site(s), get permits, test materials, assure engineering success, and win environmental and/or community approval is simply amazing.
He talked about his use of fabrics and how we usually can only feel the wind, but once the fabric is incorporated into his projects, we can also see the wind. Another part of his work that he stressed was the importance of scale and the relationship of the viewer to the work, most recently evidenced in photos of The Gates installation in New York City.
I was struck by Christo's incredible tenacity, energy level, and ability to discuss his work in simple terms. It takes years for his projects to come to fruition and then they are so ephemeral. He described his art as "creating gentle disturbances for a few days." I wish I'd written down more of what he'd said!
I came away thinking that it would be great to see the installation from above and perhaps even more interesting to see it from below, on a raft! (A Denver Post article takes a more objective view.)