ASSEMBLAGE ART

Valentine Gifts

As I am an avid collector of stuff - natural or man-made - from vintage metal animals to sea shells, it was a natural progression to add them to my collages and then start making some artworks that became more 3D and assemblage like. Assemblage art is often described as three dimensional collage or found object art.



The pioneer and one of the most celebrated artist in this field was the reclusive American, Joseph Cornell (1903 - 1972).  He was a self-taught artist who also did sculpture, collage and experimental films, but it is his boxed assemblages that he is best known for.  Simple glass fronted shadow boxes, that he made himself, were filled with found objects to tell a story. Fascinated by fragments of once beautiful and precious objects that he found in thrift stores in New York, pages of books, and trinkets from dime-stores, he made up many series of boxes that reflected his interests from birds to the ballet.  Many were interactive and meant to be handled. They are beautiful to look at and worth investigating.  Having reminded myself about this fascinating artist, I have just ordered a book about him to give me some more ideas and insights!

I find that this kind of art is very time-consuming, throwing up many technical problems along the way, but it is so rewarding.  I tend to start with a theme, as in my seaside pieces (see blogpost - February 22nd), or valentine gifts (see above) but I like the idea of letting the found objects 'talk' to you and letting the artwork develop.  I haven't done a lot of assemblage art but I have been working on two for several weeks and they are almost finished - one inspired by the objects themselves and one following one of my favourite themes - doors. I shall be photographing them shortly to share with you.