COLLAGE CITY
Surrealist Collages by Melanie Reed
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I began making surrealist collages in 1986, after being significantly impressed and inspired by those of a friend, as well as by other surrealist artists I became aware of at the time, such as Dali, Max Ernst and Magritte. With its combination of beauty and emotional complexity, the language of surrealism appealed to me immediately, and the medium of collage is an especially ideal one for realizing the surrealist goal of juxtaposing life’s sometimes shockingly disparate elements. Having some initial images to work with allows me to gravitate towards combinations of images I never could have planned, and, if I’m being emotionally conscious, to create with them a symbolically accurate depiction of my current emotional state.
(Artist's Statement continued)
Being initially intrigued by one image leads me naturally to try to personalize and deepen my perception of the image by adding other images to it, and eventually these collections take on the characteristics of completed, detailed narratives, with compositional choices like color, shape and line working to further intensify the spirit and clarify the meaning of these narratives. As I progress along the paths of both creative vision and emotional awareness, this medium continues to offer up what I believe to be an increasingly evocative vista onto which the viewers of my work can project their own feelings, thoughts and dreams. Although it is not always an easy process, I continue to believe surrealist collage to be a powerful tool for tapping into the ever-changing yet quintessentially human preoccupations of the subconscious.
"Spring"
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