Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

encyclopedia

ART

COLLAGE

The term collage is derived from the French word

colie,

which

means to paste, and refers both to the technique as well as the final

composition of the painting. A collage is a work of art created by

pasting different objects like paper, plexi-glass, fabric, wood, metal

or other materials on a surface like a canvas or board.

When only pieces of paper are used for collages the work is de-

scribed as

papier colie

(pasting papers). According to the finding of

the present author, the origin of collage is in India, though the

person who first attempted it is unknown. In several homes,

particularly in S. India, bits of cloth, artificial stones, zari and other

materials were either glued on or stitched to prints of the paintings

of gods and goddesses by Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906). Talented

women in several Indian homes made highly decorative collages by

this traditional method.

Around 1912-1913, Pablo

Picasso and Georges Braque,

the founders of Cubism, pasted

different materials over some

of their paintings to create col-

lages. Their work combined

paper fragments, wood, lino-

leum and newspapers with oil

paint on canvas. Picasso cre-

ated collages since he enjoyed

the idea of making something

out of otherwise worthless

items. In 1912, Picasso incor-

porated a piece of oil cloth

printed with simulated chair

caning into his "Still Life with

chair caning" and surrounded

the picture with a rope, like a

frame. That was his first col-

lage. Later, Braque pasted

three pieces of wood-grained

wall paper in his

compotieret

verre

and thus did his first

papier colle.

The Bottle of Anis Del

Mono was created by Juan Gris

in 1914, using oil, crayon, newspaper and the label of a liquor bottle.

A collage produced by him in 1913, titled Violin and Engraving, was

done by creating fragments and containing them within a stable

composition of vertical strips.

Collages have come to stay and influence many art styles. Sev-

eral artists use collages as a part of their total paintings. There has

also been steady expansion in the range of materials they have

used for making collages. Some have also tried grass, seeds and

leaves to form artistic collage mosaics or to get effects like embroi-

dery with natural gradations of brown, cream, green and gold.

Henri Matisse who died in 1954, at the age of 85, spent the last

decade of his life making brilliant works of art which he referred to

decoupages

(cut-outs). He cut out different shapes of brightly

coloured paper and had them pasted on flat surfaces. When his

scissors sliced through the painted paper, he felt as though he was

cutting into colours. He created collages even when he was bedrid-

den with a severe intestinal problem.

How does one go about doing collages? A canvas or board,

scissors, an adhesive and paper pieces of different colours are all

that are needed.

Collecting paper bits for collages can be both absorbing and

fascinating. For such is the bewildering range and types of paper

available like crepe paper, tissue paper, nice paper, drawing paper,

gift-wrap paper, cellophane paper, wall paper, sand paper, hand-

made paper, art paper, newsprint paper and what have you! Paper

textures too are staggering in their variety like smooth paper, rough

paper, patterned paper, translucent paper, transparent and opaque

papers - the type of finish being determined by the manufacturing

and chemical process passed through by the paper. Believe it or not

there are more than 7,000 kinds of paper! In addition to these paper

types and textures, ad-

vances in printing have

made available beautifully

coloured paper of different

patterns,

hues,tones

and

tints that can be used for

obtaining light, medium and

dark

shades,

besides

depths and dimensions.

There is no need to

draw any outline, for the

lines can be got directly

while

cutting.

Different

types of coloured paper can

spontaneously

replace

paints and the simple scis-

sors supplant the brush

with supreme ease.

Creative collages may

deal with any theme and

even when no subject is

dealt with, a pleasing ar-

rangement of pretty hues

can be organised. Collages

can be done on landscapes,

portraits and abstract com-

positions as well as on scientific, cultural and spiritual themes. A

recent collage of the present author is that of a huge bull, built with

vegetables, titled "Vegetabull"! Its message for children is, "If you

eat lots of vegetables, you will become strong like a bull!"

The sheer grandeur of a collage can never be equalled for its

unique creativity, its mosaic of ornamental designs, its energetic

elan vital, and its intriguing, captivating, even mildly wistful appeal.

Further, collages are twice blessed. They give happiness and bless

those who create it, as well as those who feast their eyes on it. The

colour and mystique of collages indeed refresh the human spirit and

help in the quest for peace.

Collages are becoming fashionable and in the not too distant

future they could become a very popular medium with artists and a

valuable item for collectors.

( V . B )