How Collage Helps Me Learn My Taste
When faced with infinite choice, what draws me in?
I have difficulty applying the word “artist” to myself, but I will admit I am attracted to collage. It’s fun, it’s creative, and it makes good use of existing materials. It’s a connection to my artist mother, who’s inspiring (and intimidating) in the art department.
What I love most about collage, though, is that it’s a journey where I can learn and explore my taste. Most of the time, I have no idea where I’m going or what I’m doing when I start a collage. It’s just me and a pile of magazines, ripped pages, and saved ephemera.
The items have already been through one round of curation to get here. Looking at my materials, I enjoy seeing the kinds of themes, patterns, images, textures, fonts, and colors I’m attracted to — insights I rarely slow down to think about. I love going to Scrap, a warehouse for used art supplies, and noticing what literal junk catches my eye.
Chevron and kitschy vegetable patterns…the sweet/sassy juxtaposition of a staged girly underneath the crude words “ROUGH PROOF”… Kodachrome colors…a calligraphy note that says “I am amazed by your mind” (there were dozens of these btw)…old-timey music sheets with quaint graphics, kooky clown included…color-block tags, and a recipe for facial tissue carnations. What a zany, random bounty!
Then I sit and play and place and play and place. My friend Stella Kalaw advised me not to glue anything down, which has been freeing. I have nothing to lose and I can go with the flow. I don’t always know when my collage is done, but I’ve learned that less is more. This one, for example, is just three elements.
Not every collage works out, but a few feel right. I’ll eventually glue these down as a sign that I’m committed to them.
In a world of infinite imagery, options, and stuff, collage helps me figure out my aesthetic compass.
It’s a taste of my taste that always invites more to explore.
To see my collage explorations, check out @collage.sf.
