Some notes on collage and collage history:

A collage may include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers, portions of other artwork or texts, photographs, and other found objects glued to a piece of paper or canvas. The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.

Collage artists have the choice of combining disparate found elements in ways where these elements are either distinct from each other, seamless, or a combination of seamless and distinct. Before the advent of Photoshop, it was difficult to make photo collages look seamless, so these pieces have tended to have a more Dadaist look, where deliberate and often startling contrast is an intentional part of the content.

These kinds of contrasts can also work to some extent with Surrealism, where dream-like, hallucinogenic elements crop up in unexpected places. But this "cut-up" look has historically limited Surrealist collage in terms of compositional variety and visionary scope. Early Surrealists who have wanted these things have primarily used painting or drawing to achieve them, eliminating altogether the use of found visual elements.

Some notes on source material and themes:

Despite new techniques for achieving a more seamless look, it is my contention that many Dadaist and Surrealist collages continue to contain the kind of imagery and themes that were originally conceived as a work-around for the "cut-up" look. It is my intention to use the new seamless process to hugely broaden the scope of Surrealist collage imagery and themes. Choosing from a broader and more expansive variety of source material seems like an obvious way to do this. The challenge here is to choose the kinds of images that contain the seeds of both personal emotional resonance and a larger symbolic or archetypical content.

Why collage? or, the importance of found materials:

The question has occasionally been posed to me that if I know what kinds of imagery work well for me, then why not simply draw, paint or even photograph this kind of imagery from scratch? My response is that there is something intrinsically magical about found materials. Coming across new and intriguing imagery when I'm not looking for something specific allows me to be open to surprises, see beyond the expected, and delight in the notion that the universe may be helping me change my preconceptions in unexpected ways. This leads me to a kind of process that is both organic and cross-pollinated, where completely new life forms are created in ways that were simply "meant to be."

It is my aim 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 landscapes of personal resonance that are broad, deep, and emotionally evocative enough to allow their visitors to return again and again for expanding, ever-changing explorations.