Collage Centennial

CALL FOR WORKS

Collage/Assemblage Centennial 
1912 - 2012

CALL FOR WORKS: DEADLINE February 15, 2012.  PLEASE REPOST 

 The modern use of collage techniques is consider to have begin in 1912 with works by Pablo Picasso (such as shown). Constructive art as been growing ever since. To celebrate this 100 year anniversary the International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction  (collagemuseum.com) would like to invite you to contribute one or more modest sized hand-made collages, assemblages, box assemblages or constructions* representative of your working style for a large (hopefully overwhelming) exhibition that will be held in 2012. A catalog of the exhibition will be created and made available to contributors at actual cost. A PDF version of the catalog will be available to contributors for free.   

No Fees, No jury, all works accepted and exhibited, none returned. Your contribution will become an important part of the Museum’s permanent collection.  
What is needed.  

Please send one or more collages, assemblages, box assemblages or constructions of modest size (you decide what is ‘modest’) that is ready to hang on a wall or exhibit on a pedestal or shelf. Works on paper should be framed if possible or, at a minimum, send in a clear resealable polypropylene bag. Unframed works will be hung together like an installation. 

Please send one of the museum’s Deed of Gift forms filled in clearly and a photo of the work. To download a copy see:http://ontologicalmuseum.org/exhibitions.html

On the back or bottom of the work please be sure to include your name and contact information as well as an email address and your website if you have one.

In addition, please send by email:

o       Additionally, send a digital (1000-1200 pixels on the long side) of the work by email with description and contact information for the web page that will be created for the exhibition.

o       A thoughtful statement expressing your views about collage, assemblage and/or constructive art as a contemporary form of art making and/or discuss the history of this genre and why it is interesting to you. These statements will be part of the catalog. Imagine that you are primarily speaking to the other artists who will be participating.

Send to

Collage Centennial

Cecil Touchon

135 COUNTRY CENTER DR STE F # 10
PAGOSA SPRINGS, CO 81147-8958

info@collagemuseum.com

* photo montage and digital montage will also be acceptable if printed in high definition/quality on archival material, unique and signed. However, hand made works are preferred.

Stop SOPA!

Star Wolves

I am going to try to explain the elation that occurs within an artist as she completes a piece of work that truly fits the vision that she had prior to creation. Well, no I guess that's almost impossible. How about I share the process? (remember! It's all about the process!)
This piece was in my mind all month. I have been really super busy, who isn't these days, and I have had to get really hard core about finding the time to settle into some collage work. I had an idea of what I wanted to do with this particular subject, the Wolf Moon. According to the Farmers Almanac's page about the moons, which is what I am using for guidance in this series, the wolf moon is kind of scary.
I quote:

"• Full Wolf Moon – January Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon."


Within these pieces I am using a specific motif with a rectangle box with a semi circle top. I pictured these wolves, pressing in on an Indian long house....and the idea began to gel. You know how I am working to supply most of the ephemera in these pieces with my own stuff, and I can assure you I have taken no pictures of wolves lately. Therefore, the only answer was to go ahead and paint the wolves. Scary. I am usually not willing to invest the time necessary to do this type of thing, but when you are able to only do one good collage a week, it seems important to pull out all the stops!

They began as a sketch in pencil. I really like this phase of the work. It's ummmmm...Leonardo-ish!

sketchy wolves

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to portray these guys in paint with success. They ARE hungry looking!
The next hurdle was what to do about the figures. I have been going thru quite a bit of deliberation and trauma over the figures lately. I don't want to just cut and paste people in. I don't want to necessarily have a figure in every piece, either. It's been a slight dilemma. I was tempted to use a family picture, with several people, not just a girl. But none seemed to fit as nicely as this pic. I decided upon this little girl...she's from the 50's I think....(I was a bit dismayed about not using an Indian village, but I am not sticking that tight to the theme.) She has the right look on her face, a wincing look. She's entering her house with some fear...and that's what I needed. The whole thing started then and there to remind me of the Little Red Riding Hood tale, and I was very happy my little girl had a hood. I was tempted to paint her coat red but I felt that leaving it gray would allow you to fill in these blanks--or not...  The wolf in the story was hungry, and the parallel fit so nicely, so I went with this idea. I like the fact that 2 different themes will fit the work. Sweet.
The pictures of the hawthorn berries in this piece were taken at night in my yard a few weeks ago with my Lomo Colorsplash camera that I have had for at least 6 years or so. It's a very touchy little manual camera, but I love the effect it produces and nothing matches it. I chose these photos to use prior to painting this piece, and so the color scheme was already set. The first thing people have said to me when seeing this piece is: "love the colors". In teaching design at SUNY Cobleskill, we spent time on colors and the vibration that occurs in the eye when using complementary colors. This is demonstrated well in this collage.
I feel good about this piece. It works for me, matches what I had in mind prior to execution, and that my friends, is a high like no other. Even if I cannot explain it.
And so, without further adieu, I share with you a piece that I am quite proud of.
The Star Wolves.

Star Wolves

Dear Anonymous

I don't know who you are, but I am grateful for you comment on my last post. Thank you so much for taking the time to express your feelings on this. It was because of you that this final piece exists.
I was dismayed over the placement of the figure in the Long Nights Moon collage and I really was going to just shelve it and move on.

the bad girl 

When I read the heartfelt comment that was posted by "anonymous" I was inspired to go back and finish up this piece. I ended up finding the most perfect head (with a fairly decent look on her face!). I have to tell you how DADA this whole process is, in that this head was found, cut as is, in my pile. It was a reject from another time, but matched this hole *perfectly*. It was meant to be. After this collage surgery, I proceeded to gold leaf it. I have not used gold leaf before, and it's quite the mess the way I do it. But then again, I am an utter slob whilst I am creating. (right Steven?)

the good girl

As I brushed off excess gold leaf, it spread all over the table and adhered to gluey edges in the work. It ended up being okay, almost like a golden moon glow, but I will be careful in the future. (I apologize for the not so clear pic. This was taken with my new iphone, which I am experimenting with. Usually I scan these...)

final, with gold leaf

Note to myself: I used Rhoplex on this piece. It was a pain in the arse. It was this glue that ruined the girls head to begin with...and it also was the cause of the gold leaf sticking to all those edges. Using Jade will eliminate this problem. Only us Rhoplex on the thinnest of papers, and then put it away!

Long NIghts Moon

What a struggle this piece has been! And although I am posting it, I am not quite satisfied with the result. The girls head is bugging me, and I tried to camoflage her by hiding her behind some oak branches, but .....??? It is what it is.

This is #2 in the series of the monthly moons...using the medieval Book of Hours as my inspiration, as well as the naming of the moons by the Iroquois. This moon is the longest of the year. I tried to convey that darker than dark moon rising feeling. The bottom piece of blue stuff...they are cyanotypes. I got some sun paper and took oak leaves from a tree in my yard, that also supplied the Lomo colorsplash blue filtered oaks in the foreground.

I have some gold leaf. I am contemplating putting the medieval calendar style dial on the moon, and putting some gold leaf in the background, however that face is bugging me, and makes me think I had best move on to other works.

Happy New Year from upstate NY. At this point, the days are only getting longer and we can celebrate the onset of a new season.

Long Nights Moon