What is collage?
A technique in which cut out paper forms
(often painted or printed) are pasted onto
another surface in a composition.
(Abrams, A History of Art)
Where did Collage begin?
Picasso
Braque
Picasso
Above: “Aficiona” , “Guitar and Sheet
Music”, 1912
Braque
• Violin and Pipe 1913
• Fruit Dish 1912
“Artist Pablo Picasso was the father of many
art movements including perhaps his most
famous, Cubism. During his Cubist stage, he
and fellow artist, Georges Braque created the
collage as a natural extension of Cubism.
Picasso created collage (synthetic cubism)
works from 1907 to 1914.”
(http://www.ehow.com/facts_5512777_history-pablo-picassoscollage-art.html#ixzz14GE7fAU9)
Important terms
• Synthetic cubism: Is what Picasso and Braque
called collage when they created it.
• Photo collage: collages made from
photographs.
• Three dimensional collage: sculptures that
use techniques similar to collage and
• Synthetic cubist sculpture: is a synonym for
three dimensional collage.
Collage also known as Synthetic
Cubism
• “Synthetic cubism is characterized by the
introduction of different textures, surfaces,
collage elements, papier collé and a large
variety of merged subject matter. It was the
beginning of collage materials being
introduced as an important ingredient of fine
art work.”
• (http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/collage.htm)
How did Collage start
• Although collage is attributed as an extension
of sorts to the artist's works done in Cubist
style, neither Picasso nor Braque ever
indicated what motivated them to begin
pasting bits of newspaper and other found
objects onto their canvases.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5512777_history
-pablo-picassos-collageart.html#ixzz14GF0Lll6
Picasso versus Braque
• Picasso was interested in
themes of popular culture.
• He integrated newspaper
clippings that involved
musical, and theatre
elements.
• Picasso took themes of
collage and made them
three- dimensional.
• Important to note, he
worked in various sculpture
& painting techniques.
• Braque was just as
influential to the collage
movement, but is
sometimes forgotten in art
history for his contributions.
• Braque was more
concerned with integrating
social elements. His
newspaper clippings were
often of social unrest, or
political issues.
Three Dimensional Collage
• Collage developed along with Cubism. In 1912,
Picasso created three-dimensional "collages."
Although these collages featured found objects
pasted onto the canvas as did the earlier ones,
these objects became sculptures on the canvas.
This was a departure from the original goal of
Cubism. Picasso's first creation in this vein was a
guitar.
(http://www.ehow.com/facts_5512777_history-pablo-picassos-collageart.html#ixzz14GLe8W9q)
Three
dimensional
Collage
In addition to collage
Picasso created a
number of synthetic
cubist sculptures. They
were composed of
wood scraps, the
sculpture is more of a
suggestion of a
musical piece, rather
than an overt
representation of one.
(tex.http://csmt.uchicago.edu/g
lossary2004/collage.htmtual
puns. )
Picasso : “Guitar”1912
Picasso: “Guitar 1924”
Collage after Picasso and Braque
Richard Hamilton
& Collage
“Just what is
it that makes
today's
homes so
different, so
appealing?”
1956
Richard
Hamilton
“$he”
• 1959-61
Richard Hamilton : Biography
• He was born in 1922, and was part of the British Group IG
formed in 1952. Made up of members from the Institute of
Contemporary Art in London. He was one of the most
prominent members.
• The members took themes and imagery from modern design
such as General Motors e.g. the Cadillac ( 1955).
• In his piece $he, Hamilton uses work based entirely on
advertising sources.
• Hamilton used collage images from Whirlpool, toasters and
vacuum cleaners as subject matter in his work.
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg & Collage
• Was interested in the intersection of art and
technology, but was less interested in the
integration of ordinary culture (such as comic,
TV..)
• He was part of the “Art of Assemblage
Movement” happening at the time.
• Like Picasso, he was interested in integrating
three dimensional elements, as seen in
“Canyon”.
“Collage” 1970
Canyon: 1959
Robert Raushenberg 1925-1982
Biography
• Rauschenberg stood apart from his Pop Art colleagues in
using his skills to draw attention to social and political
issues. His art activism certainly had its shortcomings,
nevertheless, his many attempts at fusing art with social
concerns were noteworthy. During the course of his life he
created artworks that addressed the issues of war, racial
equality, nuclear disarmament, apartheid, economic
development, artist’s rights, and environmentalism themes that all too few of today’s artists seem willing to
tackle.
(http://art-for-a-change.com/blog/2008/05/robertrauschenberg-1925-2008.html)
Rauschenberg Quotes
• “It is impossible to have progress without
conscience”
• “The artist’s job is to be a witness to his time
in history.”
(http://art-for-a-change.com/blog/2008/05/robertrauschenberg-1925-2008.html)
Contemporary Collage Artists
Richard Price
Richard Price: “Nurse Series”
The Nurse Series
• Prince's "Nurse" series at least had some
involvement by the artist. He took pulp
romance novel covers, scanned them, and had
them printed on canvas. Then he added his
own acrylic paint touches. Changing
something done my someone else, to make it
your own is sanctioned under certain areas of
the fair use statutes.
(http://ibelieveindesign.blogspot.com/)
Richard Price: Biography
• Prince was born in 1949, in the Panama Canal
zone. He first started creating "art" in the 70s.
His tactic of re-photographing photographs
was something he did from the very
beginning. It is not surprising that someone
working in the world of fine art is using images
created by others.
(http://ibelieveindesign.blogspot.com/)
Where did Price get his ideas?
• Like Hamilton and Rauschenberg, Price was fascinated with
the “art of assemblage”.
Questions???
 What do you think the social implications of the Nurses, are?
 How do Prices processes and techniques connect to Picasso
and Braques early collage techniques.
 What are some differences with in the early collage artists
and the collage artists working in teh 60s onward
Interview with Price
• Interview Link: http://www.rovetv.net/printerview.html
Questions for the class.
• Is it ok to borrow other peoples images to
make your own work?
• Have you ever borrowed pictures to make a
work of your own?
• Would it bother you if someone borrowed an
image of yours to put in their work?
• Has this ever happened to you?
Definition of Appropriation
• Term used to describe an artist’s practice of
borrowing from another source for a new
work of art. While in previous centuries artists
often copied one another’s figures, motifs, or
compositions, in modern items the source for
appropriation extend from material culture to
works of art.
• (Stockstad, Volume 2,( Glossary))
What about Appropriation(in
Collage and other mediums).
•Is Richard
Hamilton
right or
wrong?
Marlboro Man: Richard Price
• “This piece was sold for $1,200,000. It set a
record for the most money ever paid for a
single photograph. The only problem is that
he didn’t alter or change it in any way. All he
did was re- photograph it and make a really
large print. ...it sold for a $3.2 million
• No photographer had ever sold a photo for
that much. Not one.”
• Krantz, the original photographer says that
Price’s work is already public and is probably
protected by “Fair Use Laws”......he is
actually quite complacent.
One opinion piece on lines stated...
• Richard Prince is in a class by himself. But he couldn't have
done it by himself. He needed the art world to enable and
endorse him. No less than New York's Guggenheim and
Whitney museums have exhibited his work. Even worse,
Prince set a record in 2005 when one of those Marlboro
photos sold for $1,200,000. It set a record for the most money
ever paid for a single photograph. The only problem is that he
didn't take the original photo. And to make it worse, he didn't
alter or change it in any way.
• (http://ibelieveindesign.blogspot.com/), Retrieved October 2010.
Marcel
Duchamp &
Appropriation
“He took an ordinary
article of life, placed
it so that its useful
significance
disappeared under
the new title an
point of view-and
created a new
thought for the
object.” (Harrison
and Wood , p.248)
Student Nurse
Fashion appropriating Prince
Guess who else borrowed?
Campbell's Soup Can: Andy Warhol
How does Pop Art connects to
collage?
• In 1961-1962 several exhibitions in New York City
featured art that drew on popular culture for
style and subject matter. Because of its popular
sources, (movies, comics, T.V.), this emerging
movement came to be called Pop Art.
• Critics worried that the Pop Movement
threatened “high /sophisticated art” of the time.
(Stockstad, Art History, Revised Edition, Volume
two,p.1130.)
Andy Warhol
• Warhol assumed that all Pop artists shared his view of
ordinary culture.
• When the pop movement was beginning he wrote,
“The Pop Artists did images that anybody walking
down Broadway could recognize in a split secondcomics, picnic tables,, ....all the great modern things
that other artists have tried hard to ignore”
• (Stockstad, Art History, Revised Edition, Volume
two,p.1130.)
CBC Pod Cast on Appropriation
• On December 21, we aired a story that really touched a
nerve. It centered around appropriation art, the use of
borrowed images in the creation of new work. But
when is "borrowing" actually "stealing"? Listen to the
debate, and join the discussion.
• When is appropriation appropriate? And who own the
image? If artists aren't allowed to use the images that
surround us in their work, then are we preventing
artists from performing their role as cultural
commentators?
• http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2008/01/07/isappropriation-ever-appropriate-1/
Regionalists & Collage
• Regionalists is a term used collectively to
describe a group of people working in a
particular region, e.g. NB.
• When the term is used it refers to those
working in that particular part of the world.
Andrea Butler:
“So Far So Good”
Andrea Butler is a Saint
John, NB Artist.
She studied textiles at
NSCAD and has shown
Her work through out North
America.
The NB Art Bank has bought
Her work, and she has won
Provincial Art grants.
Andrea Butler: “I want to be an Artist”
Telegraph Journal Article, Sept. 2010
• “It took textile artist Andrea Butler two years
to complete these three massive tapestries
hanging outside the Imperial Theatre on its
eastern wall. The work is called 'I Wanted to
be an Artist.‘” ( Telegraph Journal 2010)
• For more of the article...
• (http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/gallery/1222336,583825)
Alexandra Flood: Artist Statement
“The acrylic technique I use calls for several coats of tinted
gloss varnish. These meticulous layers evoke the deep
luminosity of traditional stained glass and sixteenth century
Flemish still-life, while also suggesting contemporary visual
mediums such as cinematic lighting, photography and
television. My paintings appear both representational,
surreal, and sometimes abstract. The work in turn, is allowed
to float freely between past, present and futuristic
approaches to image making. I address elements of
decadence, feminine adornment, and gluttonous beauty,
with a non-polemic voice rooted in painterly virtue and a
fascination with technology.”
(http://alexandraflood.ca/)
“Native Princess”
How does she use
collage?
The series is
comprised of large
paintings that portray
long lustrous hair. The
images are derived
from edited photo
collages, which extract
and combine select
elements of idealized
princess-like hair.
(http://alexandraflood
.ca/)
“Hummer”
Jack Bishop
Jack Bishops Approach
Jack photographs people shopping/
parking lots/ and suburban
landscapes.
He then creates photo collages to
create his oil paintings .
Jacks’ work has been purchased by
both the provincial and the National
Art Bank.
He has also received Provincial
grants to work, and is a commercially
successful artist in Canada.
Regional Artists Using Collage
• http://www.andreabutler.ca/
http://alexandraflood.ca/
• http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
00220&id=164200072
Questions for the class
How will you use collage in your term portfolio
beyond this unit?
Do you see economic, social, or other
advantages with in the medium?
Can you think of your first collage; when you
made it did the thought of appropriation ever
cross your mind?
Do you ever worry about infringement laws?
History Task
• Research a modern collage artist, or an artist
that integrates collage in their work some
how.
• Find their artist statement, interview,
• Discuss how you, personally, interpret the
work.
• Find at least three images by that artist and
compare them to another Artist mentioned in
the unit, e.g. Braque or Hamilton.
What is this?