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

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-

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

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 )

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 as 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.