Frequently asked questions:

What is your style and medium?

Surrealist collage, composed exclusively of found paper fragments.

Why Surrealism?

Because I am powerfully attracted to its dream-like, symbolic, archetypal and personal language.

Why collage?

Because I am very drawn to the random serendipity of found materials – the use of which is highly compatible with the Surrealist style.

Why do your Surrealist paper collages look different from other Surrealist paper collages?

The Surrealist style has historically been used with many different types of media, and each type of media will inform the work in different ways. Because Surrealism was born in an era where early photography shared the popular print media stage with line-cut illustration, the limitations of these types of media necessarily limited the compositional techniques and image selection choices of early Surrealist collage artists who were dependent on these types of media. However, it’s interesting to note that despite the considerable evolution of contemporary print media, Surrealist paper collages continue to employ these same kinds of limited compositional techniques and image selection processes. It’s my contention that collage artists who broaden their focus to include general Surrealist visual principles in addition to historical Surrealist collage principles may notice that they can now choose from a huge range of ever-evolving printed photo and illustration media, selecting and deploying a virtually infinite spectrum of possible imagery and compositional choices.

How would you characterize your own particular Surrealist collage style?

The look I seek is directed toward seamlessness, form, line, contrast, and images that contain personal emotional resonance.

If seamlessness is an important concern, why not just use Photoshop?

Since the advent of Photoshop and similar programs, digital collage artists can now choose to create a seamless look by scanning and combining their images. However, a number of things are lost with these techniques. It is no longer possible to glimpse the layers that reveal the three-dimensional process and the edges that reveal the conscious process of placement. The challenge and virtue of hand-made paper collage is to find ways of making seamless-looking pieces that contain solid, versatile composition without sacrificing the tactile qualities that reflect the hand of the artist.

Where are these collages going in the “big-picture” sense?

It is my intention to push Surrealist collage, my own compositional abilities, and others’ understanding of the Surrealist collage process as far as all three can go. Just as change of place gives new perspective, these pieces aim to conjure up new worlds, new ways to see ourselves, creating visionary landscapes that are broad, deep, and emotionally evocative enough to allow their visitors to return again and again for expanding, ever-changing explorations.