What do Yoruba costumes, Cindy Sherman, and giant sculptural sunglasses have in common? They’re all part of a new installation put together by fashion designer Duro Olowu (he doesn’t use the term curated). It all started with his mother.
What Happened to Motherwell’s Pink?
Robert Motherwell, “Pancho Villa Dead and Alive,” 1943 (MOMA/Dedalus Foundation)
Should collage artists worry about papers fading over time? This question was prompted by a hugely informative post by artist/teacher Nancy Nikkal about the recent Robert Motherwell exhibition at MOMA — which I blogged about in “How Robert Motherwell Lost His Dada Cred.”
So…did Motherwell coat his papers on both sides with PVA? I don’t think they even had PVA in 1946. But should I be using it now?
Not being an art school grad, I have wondered about this issue. Some collage instruction books tell you it’s essential to protect your papers unchanged for eternity. Was I being too lackadaisical about this? Continue reading
Art & Design in South Africa Today
Mesuli Mamba, “Rolfe’s Environment”
Mesuli Mamba is prison warden and collage artist in Swaziland, South Africa. That’s where he grew up. Mamba first learned about art from his father’s collection of Reader’s Digest — which he still mines for collage materials, along with drawings, poetry texts, and glossy magazines (which can be hard to get).
The 34-year-old says: ” “Being a prison warden is tough. Real tough. But once you get used to it, you get to know the people in your community—we’re supposed to call them inmates but they’re just my machita [guys]. They don’t know about my collages yet.”
Gift Guide for Collage Lovers
SHOP scrambled spells POSH————–and if your budget allows you to go really posh, then visit some galleries and actually buy collage art!
If not…I’ve collected a few collagey items which are mostly easy on the budget.
The exception is the Alex and Lee scarf above, from the “Dream Mandala” collection based on their Rorschach collages. There are nine different patterns (the one above is Turquoise Mosaic).
You can get these in square or rectangular in silk or modal/wool for $250 each at Cavalier Goods.
Now on to some more modest purchases and real steals.
Exquisite Corpse Collage
A peek inside my bag of collage papers
A cafe in Paris, 1925. Suddenly, a little guy with a monocle jumps up at his table, crying “Follow me.” A “prime collection of zanies” leap to their feet, dashing out without paying for their coffee.
Out in the streets of Paris, the monocled guy—–like the Pied Piper———-leads the rest. “Solemnfaced,” they march, “executing a number of idiotic maneuvers.” All the while, they’re chanting: Dada, Dada, Dada.”
Photo Collage: Miguel Rio Branco
Miguel Rio Branco installation (Photo: Pedro Motta)
It’s been called another Versailles. Or the Disneyland of the future. It’s Inhotim——-a huge art complex and botanical park in southeastern Brazil. Privately owned, it’s got international art star installations and 12,000 varieties of palm trees. Miguel Rio Branco has his own pavilion there.
Rio Branco is a Brazilian photographer whose work, though stunning, is usually too seamy for me. Among his favorite subjects are prostitutes —————not exactly Disney. He describes the essence of his work this way: “… being in paradise, yet having something absolutely terrible taking place.”
Installation Collage: CandyCoated
Children’s costume,
“Martha Washington,”
Early 20th c.,
Say you’re planning a show of antique children’s costumes. You know, Little Red Riding Hood. Martha Washington. A Maltese water carrier. But you want to jazz it up a little———–after all, this is 2013. Who you gonna call?
How Robert Motherwell Lost His DADA Cred
Robert Motherwell, “Jeune Fille,” 1944 Oil, ink, gouache, and pasted Kraft drawing paper, colored paper, Japanese paper, German decorative paper, and fabric on canvas board.
That headline needs some ‘splainin’, as Ricky Ricardo used to say. First, Dada—————-the more radical offshoot of Surrealism. Dada was thought up after World War I by a bunch of punk writers and artists in Europe. Okay, they didn’t use the word “punk.” But they were rebels. They flirted with nihilism. They wanted to shock.
Continue reading
Cousins Kissing: Shoes and other creatures
Anna-Wili Highfield, Hummingbird (2013)
I like putting things together that you wouldn’t think of putting together, which is why I’m a collage artist.
Chloe, 2008 collection
So here’s a new series in which I’ll pair two artist/creators whose work, though unrelated, is similar————like, say, Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew and Tony Bennett singing “The Lady Is a Tramp” with Lady Gaga as the Lady.
Serge Lutens: Scent Collage
Imagine these scents put together: cabbage, tobacco, roses, and green tea. If collage means, as Wangechi Mutu said, “to embrace…discord with ease,” such a clash of scents qualifies.
Now free associate. A restaurant in Paris. A secret garden. Gauloises. A beautiful Chinese girl. There’s the beginning of a narrative:
During World War II, a man joins the French Resistance. Soon he must quit his job as a waiter at Le Petit Chou to hide out in an abandoned rose garden. Late at night. Liang Sha (hostess at Chou) brings him Gauloises, until …
Collage Volupté 