20th century expressions II – Collage

Georges Braque, (French, 1882-1963) Guitar, collage, charcoal, pencil, gouache, 99 x 65cm, 1913.

Collage and papiers colle means ‘to glue things down’, and involves gluing paper, textiles, wallpapers, bus tickets or even objects onto the 2-D surface of an artwork. This is a normal and accepted part of art practice these days. It started, though, in the first decade of the century with the work of Georges Braque, Picasso and Juan Gris – all of whom were exploring the Cubist style at this time.

Juan Gris, Breakfast, collage, crayon and oil on canvas, 80 x 59cm, 1914

Cubism was a style developed mainly by Braque & Picasso at beginning of the century. It involved creating an artwork showing different sides of an object: multiple viewpoints at the one time. Cubism developed over time. It was inspired, amongst other things, by Cezanne’s fragmenting of an image into patches, which went towards destroying the ‘window on the world’ illusion we’ve been used to….Cubism AND collage both had the effect of flattening the depth of the painting, so that the surface of the work becomes more apparent. Cubism and collage worked in together.

Cezanne, Mt St Victoire, 57 x 97cm, oil on canvas, c.1902-5

Jean Metzinger, Table by a window,

81 x 65cm,oil on canvas 1917

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Typically, collage used mass-produced items from everyday life. An interesting link then, with the interest in every day life we saw with the Impressionists (and contrasting with the Symbolists or Art Nouveau, which followed the more interior and imaginative route.) These objects had no value and were disposable. The idea of disposability is itself a Modern phenomenon.

Items used in collage and photomontage (collages of photographic items) were themselves copies of things.

Collage raised questions about reality; illusions; originality; commercial production; and the artist’s hand.

Collages also questioned the traditional skills involved with artmaking; and of creating and interpreting worlds. Things that were collaged (and similarly, Cubist works) didn’t necessarily ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE the subject. They represented the object in a more abstract sense ( just as text represents a word.) This was happening for the first time and was shocking and confusing to many.

Picasso, Man with a hat and violin, 1912.

Picasso, Still life with chair caning, 1912.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=286FiUvOeFs&list=PL2D885F5ED630353D&index=9&feature=plpp_video

Brief clip from Philadelphia museum of art, talking about 2 collages, of Picasso and of Gris:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHmeRiR5s_U&feature=endscreen&NR=1

ResourcesSome notes on Collage: MoMa: http://www.moma.org/collection/theme.php?theme_id=10064

Marsh, Margaret, Watts, Michelle & Malyon, Craig, ART2: practice. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2005.Blistene, Bernard, A history of 20th century art. Paris: Flammarion, 2001.

Examining the exam – HSC questions

Q: How does Lewis Hine’s photograph, Steamfitter, 1920 represent social attitudes to progress?

Plate 1: Lewis Hine, 1874 –1940, USA, Steamfitter, 1920. Gelatin silver print, 24.2 cm ×17.8 cm.

Q: Shahzia Sikander was born in 1969 in Lahore, Pakistan. She has achieved international recognition for her artistic practice. In 2007 her artwork Transformation as Narrative was exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.

Explain how Shahzia Sikander uses different procedures in the production and exhibition of her artwork Transformation as Narrative.

Plate 1: A selection of Sikander’sPreliminary drawings; photographsAnd reference materials.

“Sikander carries a camera with her daily, documenting her observations which are frequently incorporated into her work in some shape or form…” – Rachel Kent, Curator.

Plate 2: Gallery technicians assisting with the Preparation of Sikander’s artwork TransformationNarrative 2007 at MCA Sydney

Plate 3: Shahzia Sikander working on Transformation as Narrative, 2007 at MCA Sydney. Acrylic on wall, wall dimensions 686 x 1164cm.