Cut With A Knife and ReassembledCollage and Image Assemblage

Introduction

A Victorian-era drawing room with figures in period attire, featuring framed portraits and vibrant decor.

© Mary Georgiana Caroline, Lady Filmer, Lady Filmer in her Drawing Room, 1863–1868

Photocollage and Watercolor

Collage - combination of different materials, such as photographs, newspaper/magazine images/clippings, paper, paint, drawing, and/or three-dimensional objects (fabric, wood, metals).

Collages can be created by hand (cutout of source and adhesive (glue or tape is used) and/or digitally composited on a support material, including paper, canvas, wood or a metal surface.

A surreal collage featuring a man holding a baby, surrounded by various cut-out figures and abstract elements.

Hannah Höch, The Father, 1920

Magazine and Newspaper Clippings

Read and consider the following discussion and artists who are using collage and image assemblage to transform what the photograph looks like visually as well as creating new narrative possibilities as you begin thinking about and working on the upcoming Image-Making Assignment.

Connection

Considering and incorporating these Collage Techniques will be helpful towards successfully completing the following upcoming assignments:

8.6 | An Intervention with Photography (Graded Image-Making Assignment)

Collage and Image Assemblage

Cut With A Knife / Scissors and Reassembled

A black-and-white collage of a woman with a trophy, combined with fragmented images of a sculpture.

© Lorna Simpson, Magician, 2019

Found Photograph and Collage

Lorna Simpson talks about her life and work in her Brooklyn studio. Simpson came to prominence in the 1980s through her pioneering approach to conceptual photography, which featured striking juxtapositions of text and staged images and raised questions about the nature of representation, identity, gender, race and history. These concerns are reflected in the artist’s expanding and increasingly multi-disciplinary practice today.

(Video Length = 3:55)

A collage of a woman sitting on a bed with parts of her body replaced by tree bark textures.

© Lorna Simpson, The meaning of power and physical world, 2021

Collage and Pastel on Handmade Paper

A collage with cut-out silhouettes revealing images of various people, objects, and scenes underneath. © Justine Kurland, Hustlers (Philip-Lorca diCorcia), 2021

Collage made from iconic photobooks

Considerations for Making Collages with Cut-Out Source Materials

Work with a range of images in terms of quantity and size, including photographer-created and appropriated (no less than 3 images and no more than 6 images)

Consider support material, which can include any of the following:

Colored or plain paper
Newspaper
Cardboard
Thin-gauge metal
Canvas
Smooth-surfaced wood

It will be necessary to use a larger piece of paper or support material to fit all of the images.

A Collage is required to incorporate a minimum of 3 images and no more than 6 images of different sizes on a support to be considered and evaluated.

Make a photograph of the finished collage and Post on Instagram as an Individual Image Post

Digital / Sculptural Collage

A collage featuring a woman in yellow, surrounded by various photos, objects, and colorful elements.

© Sara Cwynar, Tracy (Pantyhose), 2017

Assemblage of various objects on-location and photographing set-up

A vibrant collage of various images and text, layered with red, blue, and yellow overlays.

© Roe Ethridge, Pic 'n Clip 9, 2017

Digital composite on computer monitor and then photographing monitor

A surreal collage with a mix of objects, people, and a "Closed" sign in a black-and-white street scene.

© Matt Lipps, from Library, 2013 - 2014

Three-dimensional collage staging of a still life and then photographing space/location

In this studio-visit, Matt Lipps speaks about the HORIZON/S series amongst works. (Video Length = 5:21)

Considerations for Making Digital / Sculptural Collage

Work with a range of images in terms of quantity and size, including various objects and materials (no less than 10 objects and/or materials)

It will be necessary to work within a space and/or location as well as considerations for the Lighting Circumstance and Direction(s) so that the Collage Still Life can be photographed.

A Digital/Sculptural Collage is required to incorporate a minimum of no less than 10 objects and/or materials in a space/location or on a computer monitor to be considered and evaluated.

Make a photograph of the finished collage and Post on Instagram as an Individual Image Post