Collage shortcuts

I am currently participating at an exhibition in Longview Museum of Fine Arts Texas. The title of the exhibition proposed by Cecil Touchon is Under Influence. My contribution, as you can see is quite disrespectful because I think that many (famous) painters painted just for their living, often without real commitment. Of course I could have chosen another collage that pays homage to Picasso for ex., but this is quite evident in my eyes as the forerunners or great defunct masters don't deserve my tribute and I don't want to glorify myself with their prestige. Ad my personal trait is a certain taste for mockery. I just can't see art as a kind of modern religion, I see it more as a road to perfection.
And to close this post, a Picasso-inspired collage.

Sometimes I am on an erotic collage and as I show some on my website, here is my position.
Looking at erotic pictures has always been quite a pleasure for me, at least since puberty. Making an erotic picture is quite enjoyable even now, but not my primary goal at all. I am after form and expression through it. Most erotic works seem all too conventional to me, and erotism need new stimuli. A recent collage I'd qualify as erotic shows a girl.

Why does it seem erotic to me? Well there are some stereotypes like the eyes looking at you, a bare breast, the gesture of undressing, as in so many ads. Erotism comes here from a promise, from an extrapolation of the situation.
This is different from porn, where the sexual act is crudely shown. No art in my eyes. The only collages where I did so were taken from japanese prints where the scene is despicted in a refined manner. Anyway, cinema has - logically - taken over still pictures. But let's go back to my collage. Looking at it, I feel that there is some mystery in it. And that is it what turns me on - as in my other collages. Because I always want to surprise myself.

Another collage. I have been working a little on manipulation in collage 1971 and came by chance to the theme of the scapegoat. First I saw the ropes and the rest followed quite easily. The victim is a theme I treated several times in painting and collage. Surely because my family has been persecuted by the Nazis and the fundamental question about it: why?

The link to the collage.

I try to work every day, to make at least one collage, that’s my rule. It is evident that I can’t hold this rhythm exactly, but I keep it as my stake. Even if I don’t feel like it, I just move some bits of paper on a sheet – in order to keep in touch. This discipline is very hard to initialize, but after some time, it becomes a routine. Maybe it is easier for me now that I am older. When I was young, I worked like a volcano – sleeping mostly with sudden violent outbursts. I didn’t like the intermezzi, they scared me, I used to question myself filled with doubt. Creative outbursts are very strong experiences and I love them when they occur. But I have tried to discipline myself in order to produce a constant flow of pictures. And the outburst? They still occur when I am on a collage that stands out from the others. Yesterday, when I was awaiting the verdict of my doctor, I couldn’t sit down and make a collage. So I moved pieces of paper, my small desk is now in a mess, I go on moving bits of paper here and there, nothing fabulous happens, so I’ll publish a photo of this mess.

Well, 2 hours later, I made it! But not with the pictures on my desk... A sudden outburst.

The link to the bigger picture.

This collage has been lying around for two days at least. I was looking for a twist of the head. I tried different solutions but none worked to my satisfaction because the new head looked quite uninteresting (2). So I tried something radically different: the footballer.The placement was evident, I just needed to complete the head, get the red heart and a bit of hair. The result seems rather inspired to me, so I decided to publish the - very approximate - making of it. An interesting idea that led me was the art of cutting fish for sushis: I tried to be very "japanese" in my cuts.







For a bigger view

Saw a painting of Sophie Taeuber-Arp reproduced in a German newspaper . I was stunned how this triptych from 1918 appears today after September 11th. The 2 planes circling in the sky of the city seem like vultures. The form of the triptych goes back to altar pieces. The angels have retreated, leaving a trace in form of mere birds - who feed on carrion. And the city is empty. Time seems suspended, just before or after a calamitous event. We are alone and the sky is threatening us. I have tried to illustrate this in a collage where it is the human madness that causes destruction and distress, namely the “inspiration” from sacred texts taken as a means of destruction.
In 2009, we can say that the disaster has occurred and that we may expect more of it. So far for the pessimistic side. Maybe this painting resonates in me because I have experienced a little bit of war myself with air attacks. And because I am waiting for the result of a biopsy (which turned out to be excellent - march 9th)). I am not scared, just anxious to know. It blocks a little bit my creativity but luckily not my sense of humor.

After those very serious considerations this is a joke about Brad Pitt and French pitre=clown. A pitrerie is an innocent joke like children do so often. The collage came without premeditation, my camera was just at hand and I wanted to share this smile with you.

The link