Materials for Collage

For my collage class this semester, the focus has been on materials.  For example, one week we worked with corrugated cardboard, the next week a garment, and the third week a book cover.  The instructor started with a surprise quote to stimulate developing a finished piece. For the piece on the left I used scored cardboard and torn paper.  The piece on the right is a cover for a make-believe book that I entitled "Grim Fairy Tales."

"Circus"

Recently I visited the Guggenheim and for third time I went to a side gallery to view Kandinsky's paintings which he did while in Paris.  I was very taken with many of his pieces and decided to try my hand at creating a painting combining his influences and some collage.  His use of color, line and shape had a great affect on me and helped me to get back to painting which has been dormant for a long time while concentrating on collage.  Below is a result of my effort:

A Visit to the Magritte Exhibit at the MOMA plus some New Collages

Recently I went to the new Magritte exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art which is closing the second week of January.  Included are 80 works by the artist done between 1926 and 1938.  He was a master of the surreal and the show is outstanding.
 

"Displacement, transformation, metamorphosis, the “misnaming” of objects, and the representation of visions seen in half-waking states are among Magritte’s innovative image-making tactics during these essential years."

I recently completed several collages that were interpretations of some of Edward Hopper's paintings - a continuation of the theme of this semester.  

Edward Hopper - Nighthawks

One of Hopper's most famous paintings is "Nighthawks" pictured below. Visiting the exhibit at the Whitney museum introduced me to Hopper's thorough preparation.  He carefully rendered many drawings visiting the different sites before painting his own vision.

The interpretation that I expanded on involved using the figures, the darks and lights along with some of the geometric shapes.  Hopper establishes a mood of loneliness, alienation in much of his work.  I especially love his use of artificial light emphasizing the inside vs. outside.  Below is my rendition in collage materials.

Edward Hopper at the Whitney

For the duration of my Fall semester in collage we will be reinterpreting the drawings and paintings of Edward Hopper based on a large exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Art.  whitney.org 

I plan on visiting and reporting on this exhibit within the next several weeks but for the first class a drawing of  Hopper's fire hydrant from a city scene became the jumping off point for my collage.

I decided to abstract that image using circles and biscecting lines to create an original influenced by the drawing.

What I Have Been Doing This Summer

I just finished creating two new wall hangings and I want to share them with you.  The client wanted one to be very "girly" for her daughter thus the pink, purple, fairies, flowers, dragonflies etc. and for her son she indicated that he liked musical instruments.  I will soon be returning to my collages and hopefully finish a painting that I began at the beginning of the summer.  Below are the results of the commissioned pieces.

"Metamorphoses" by Ovid

Here are the results of my interpretations of different stories from"Metamorphoses" as pictured below.

This is the tale of Atalanta who could outrun even the fastest men in a footrace.

This is the story of Peleus and Thetis grappling with an enormous seabird its body as powerful as a seal.

This is the tale of Acteon and Diana.  Diana, angry that Acteon saw her naked made antlers of a stag sprout from his dripping head.

Finally, this is the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice who turned to look at her  whereupon she fell away and dissolved.