(Photos - top: discussing the Cubism and collage in front of Picasso's
Ma Jolie, left: discussing a piece by Joan Miro in the drawing galleries, right: discussing
Central Park Carrousel in Memoriam, an assemblage box piece by Joseph Cornell.)
Experiment with Collage
Course description:
Collage grabs your attention quickly, but it takes time to really see it. It is the original "recycling" approach to materials in art making—it takes the old and makes it new. Through fragmenting, combining, and recontextualizing, objects and images are transformed. This eight-week course combines studio demonstrations of collage techniques with close study of significant works in MoMA's collection. Detailed demonstrations will show you how to make your own collages, inspired by the ways in which these masters pushed the boundaries of representation and materials. Watch exclusive videos—shot in MoMA's galleries—about works by some of the masters of collage, including Pablo Picasso, Joseph Cornell, Hannah Höch, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Bradford, and others. These videos, together with readings, slideshows, and discussions, make for a dynamic and challenging studio course for newcomers and experts alike.
A digital camera is required in order to photograph and post work for weekly discussions. Students will need to purchase materials and supplies for this course (costs range from $20 to $200, depending on your preferences).
Week 1: Fragmenting the Picture Plane
Week 2: Appropriation and Recontextualization
Week 3: Drawing with Scissors
Week 4: Cultural Icons and Symbols
Week 5: The Figure
Week 6: Assemblage
Week 7: Altered Book Project
Week 8: Off the Wall
(Stills taken from the "In the Studio" videos, where I demonstrate techniques and material processes for the studio projects for the MoMA Online Experimenting with Collage course.)
The development of this course was really a multi-faceted project that harnessed the energy and efforts of many talented people. As the studio art instructor (aka talent in front of the camera), I was nervous at first, but quickly settled into this new approach to teaching art. The film crew had to draw smiley faces on gaffer tape and stick them on to the camera stands so that I knew where to look, and had some sense of audience. This little combination of marker and tape was unbelievable helpful. Never mind being able to make art and talk about what I was doing at the same time; I got the most satisfaction at being able to make art upside down and talk about what I was doing at the same time. Luckily multi-tasking is somewhat synonymous with being a mixed media artist - at least that's how I saw it. Let's just say that there had to have been lot of synapses firing at once.
The Museum of Art & History is a terrific museum in downtown Santa Cruz, spearheaded by Nina Simon, its current director. During my residency in Santa Cruz, there was a Book Art event and poetry evening that featured the works of some of the students I was working with at the Sesnon Gallery as well as works from the Book Art Santa Cruz organization. I showed one of my own recent Book Art projects - an altered book art piece.
As part of a 2012 low-residency (meaning that I traveled back and forth between California and New York) artist residency at the University of California, Santa Cruz - I got to walk through the lush springtime Redwood forest and revisit my days as a Banana Slug (the college mascot) on the UCSC campus.
