Ahoy, mateys!
Last week, I had the pleasure of joining the National Collage Society for a tour of Under Construction: Collage from the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was an absolute delight to see the variety of methods used by artists who collage. I enjoyed works by Tim Rollins and KOS, Robert A. Nelson, Man Ray, Cristina Toro, Shepard Fairey, Kristina Rogers, and Mark Wagner. The collages featured were irreverent and funny, dark and mysterious, narrative or abstract, or everything all at once and in between. There were collages made of trash and there were collages made of cash. The exhibition did an excellent job of showcasing how versatile and relevant collage is to the last century and beyond. It was exciting to see the potential of collage in the form of an exhibition, and I hope to see more of its kind in the future.
Speaking of relevant, the Mint Museum has quite a collection of Romare Bearden’s work, as they should! Romare Bearden grew up in Charlotte and became the 20th century’s most important collage artist. His work depicts memories and rituals from his childhood, with baptismal ceremonies being a particular focus of several pieces, as well as musical performances. The coolest part about his work, besides the symbolism and moods he created, is the variety of materials and methods he used to create his collages, mixing photos from magazines with colored papers with watercolored paper with wallpaper and drawing and so on. I don’t have the guts yet to use such a variety of materials in my own collage work, but I will get there. My favorite pieces by Bearden in the show were the ones featuring musicians, especially Guitar Magic (1986). He used photo, construction paper, watercolored paper, and drawing. The joy and energy of their performance were captured so well in his use of color, line, and shape! He also captured the soft, pale, quiet light of dawn in his Morning By Candelight (c. 1968-1972). If you venture into the Mint Museum’s permanent collection, you’ll find more of Bearden’s work, especially his forays into print making. You’ll have to hurry to see the collage show, though. It comes down on August 18, 2019.
I’ll do another blog post about other works in the Mint Museum’s permanent collection; it deserves a post of its own!
After touring the exhibition, the president of the National Collage Society, Gretchen Bierbaum, led a collage workshop in the atrium for all ages. We started with a postage stamp, and used sewing patterns, stained envelopes, credit card envelopes, old calendars, slide frames, etc. to ignite our creative fires and, for me, make something that I wouldn’t normally make on my own. For starters, I mostly use images from National Geographic, and I definitely do not just rip the paper by hand. I like to precisely cut around the edges of things in a meditative state. This workshop was about action and intuition, and it was just what I needed to loosen up and branch out into something new. Many thanks to the National Collage Society and the Mint Museum for these wonderful experiences and fresh eyes. :)
