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photage
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...(continued
from top)
A
photage, though, is many things at once. It is a pastiche of cut
paper fragments carefully joined to give the illusion of volume while
still entertaining the eye with the changing facets and subtle color
interaction achieved with traditional collage.
The
photage process starts with the selection of a palette of
cohesive
colors, textures or design elements from all kinds of print media.
I usually have about a
dozen palettes under construction at one time.
When I have what I feel is
the right number of elements, I start looking
for an arrangement by standing over the palette and pushing the pieces around
quickly, like playing with a Ouija board, until some overall composition
or pattern emerges. I don't get an idea and try to execute it, but rather try
to reveal the ideal by finding the most beautiful placement for each piece
in relation to all the other pieces in terms of color, content, and
shape of the element -- a lot of things to be aware of at
once. As you can see, sometimes I do end up with a
semi-recognizable picture, but it wasn't intended in the
beginning. Contrary to what you might expect, I lay the entire
image out before committing with glue.
The "work" begins
when, one section at a time, shapes are
smoothed out, fitted together exactly, and glued down on a piece of
archival Harty Board -- not very easily, because they are layered and need to be
constantly moved over and put back together during the gluing
process. When everything is
stuck down, I can tip the
photage up and stand back and look at the results of my efforts for the
first time. I sometimes find that because
of the strong balance a work can be enjoyed from more than one
orientation, and I sometimes even prefer a different orientation that
the one I had in mind during the process.
An isolation coat of gel is
then applied, followed by many layers of ultraviolet-protective polymer varnish, which
keeps the photage from ever fading and gives it a jewel-like finish.
Why
photage? People have said I could do the same thing on the
computer -- implying that it would be easier? ha! -- but it's a moot
point because it wouldn't be done on a computer. First of all, I
am primarily a colorist, and a
great deal of the inspiration comes from the incomparable exotic
richness and subtlety of ink colors that sometimes absolutely
sizzle when juxtaposed. Looking at a computer screen is downright
painful by comparison. The layering of the paper that gives the
photage such a rich textural surface would also be lost in the computer.
And I love poring over the
magazines. The idea that I am using free discarded material and
recycling it positively tickles my environmental sensibilities.
Being a problem-solving kind of person who enjoys making things with my
hands out of found objects, I also like seeing what I can do within the
built-in limitations created by 8 1/2-by-11-inch pages with
their ready-made visual content. In short, I really like what I
do.
Thank you for
looking. To get the
full effect of the pieces you have to view the real things up close and
far away, so I hope you all get a chance to see them "live"
someday. Please check the news, galleries &
upcoming shows page for opportunities in your area.
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