current european perspecctives
This exhibition on contemporary collage aims to shine a light on one of art history’s neglected children. Its very strengths may often have worked against it. It is largely unconditional – scissors, glue and paper are all that is needed. If necessary, one can even use one’s hands instead of scissors. In principle, anyone can meet the technical requirements.
However, its richness of expression, its tendency towards allusion—often reflecting a deep knowledge of art history—and its distance from the melodramatic in form and scale, largely derived from the act of cutting, make it an interesting counterpoint to the market clamour for the spectacular. The use of ready-made visual elements, combined with the potential speed of production, fosters associative, formally stimulated image development and thus surreal tendencies that transcend rational image organisation. This visual process runs counter to the prevailing orientation of social life towards procedures, predictability and repeatability. Collage is enormously satisfying because it vehemently appeals to a repressed human side.
