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WHAT IS
COLLAGE?
The American Heritage Dictionary defines collage as “an artistic
composition of materials and objects pasted over a surface, often
with unifying lines and color.” The origin of the word is French:
coller, to glue. Anything that is glued, pasted or adhered onto
something else might be broadly interpreted as collage. Pablo
Picasso, Georges Braque and Henri Matisse launched collage into the
mainstream of art in Paris in the twentieth century and popularized
the term. Much early experimentation in collage took place in
France, thus the collage vocabulary has a distinctly French accent.
(See “Collage Terms.”)
Collage probably existed before the invention of paper, certainly
long before the technique was thought of as artistic. Many people
still view collage as a craft rather than an art, but you’ll soon
see that the fine art of collage can be as formal, as challenging,
and as expressive as painting.
Most collage is based on ordinary materials, such as magazines,
newspapers, photos, wallpaper or fabric, used creatively. Collage
has almost universal appeal to artists who constantly search for
other means to add more excitement to their work and for different
ways of being creative. Collage, more than any art medium, offers
myriad opportunities for invention and innovation. The versatility
and flexibility of collage offer infinite possibilities for the
arrangement of elements, usual juxtapositions and transformation of
images and meaning. The possibility of change always exists. You can
add something and remove or cover up something else. Almost anything
that can be readily manipulated can contribute to the visual and
tactile sensuality of the collage surface. No other medium will give
you such a variety of exciting alternatives.
Excerpt taken with permission from:
Creative Collage Techniques by Nita Leland and Virginia Lee Williams
Terms:
AFFICHES LACERÉS (a-fish’ lah-ser-ay’)
Found paper collage.
ASSEMBLAGE (ah-sem-blah j’) Combination of three-dimensional objects
glued to a surface.
BRICOLAGE (bree-col-ah j’) Combining odds and ends in collage.
BRÚLAGE (brew-lah j’) Burning of dampened collage materials.
COLLAGE (ko-lah j’) Pasting or gluing papers or objects onto a
surface.
DÉCALCOMANIE (day’-kal-ko-‘-mahn-ee) Placing wet paint between two
surfaces and pulling apart.
DÉCHIRAGE (day-shur-ah j’) Distressed paper collage.
DÉCOLLAGE (day-ko-lah j’) Removing, ungluing or otherwise
subtracting material from the layers of a collage.
DÉCOUPAGE (day-koop-ah j’) Cut paper collage.
FEMMAGE (fahm-ah j’) Collage art and traditional craft done by
women, frequently fabric-oriented.
FROISSAGE (fwahs-ajh’) Crumpling or creasing of collage materials.
FROTTAGE (frot-ah j’) Rubbing a design onto collage materials from a
textured surface.
FUMAGE (foom-ah j’) Exposing dampened collage materials or surface
to candle smoke.
LAYERING (lay’-r-ing) Building and removing layers of collage
materials; a philosophy of connecting spiritual energies with art.
MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE Any combination of media with collage.
PAPIERS COLLÉS (pah-pee-ay’ ko-lay’) Pasted papers.
PHOTOMONTAGE (fo-to-mahn-tah j’) Collage of glued photographs or
cut-out photos.
Suggested Reading:
Creative Collage Techniques by Nita Leland and Virginia Lee Williams
(North Light Books)
Watermedia Techniques for Releasing
the Creative Spirit, Marilyn Hughey Phillis (Watson Guptil)
Collage Techniques, A Guide for Artists & Illustrators,
Gerald Brommer (Watson Guptil)
Collage Sourcebook – Exploring the Art & Techniques of Collage,
Atkinson, Harrison & Grasdal (Quarry Books)
Celebrate Your Creative Self, Mary Todd Beam (North Light
Books)
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