In doing some research (while preparing my entry) for this year's National Collage Society's small works show, I came across an article, "Clip, Place & Paste," about last year's show in Buffalo, New York. It features close-ups of a few of the pieces.
When I was in Indiana a few weeks ago I visited the Indianapolis Museum of Art. I had seen photos of tapestries created by African artist El Anatsui but had never seen one in person. Wow -- they are composed of recycled, flattened liquor bottle caps (aluminum) joined together with copper wire. I wish I had been able to photograph it up close. It is spectacular from a distance and captivating on close inspection. This piece is 17 feet wide and hung so that it undulates. The museum website has a video clip that shows its installation along with some closeups and commentary about the piece. Very inspiring!
I saw the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater today. What an amazing performance. So many effortless looking movements and intriguing choreography, amazing artistry and athleticism. I kept thinking how great it would be to photograph the dancers, even though it would be a blur, and use some of those abstract qualities as the basis for a collage composition. I have several pieces that I feel were influenced by my daughter's ballet studies. They are more carefully composed and balanced, as ballet tends to be. The photo shows a piece called "Arabesque" that was done quite some time ago. It would be fun to try something along those lines that incorporates more movement and speed. It is great when one kind of art is able to lend ideas to another kind of medium -- it was a very inspiring afternoon.
Must be spring... violets are trying to break loose of the snow and undergrowth. I love the patterns of the downed grasses and the bright purple color punctuations. Not to mention the first signs of green!