J A Dixon « The Collage Miniaturist

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Triple Play

Monday, April 30th, 2018

“Friendship is a manifestation of God’s love for you, expressed through your friends, who constitute the richest possessions a human being can have.”
— Paramhansa Yogananda

As I have probably emphasized too many times in this format, one of the most enjoyable forms of collage artwork is the personal montage, which begins with a sort of meditation on a particular friend or family member and evolves with an array of ingredients driven by a unique set of preferences and associations. Over the years, in many ways, it has provided me an instructive path to a fuller expression of the medium, and I shall never miss opportunities to continue such a rewarding practice.

Triple Play
collage miniature by J A Dixon
7.75 x 10.25 inches
collection of S P Vagedes

Posted in Collage, Gift Art, Ingredients, J A Dixon | No Comments »

Mr. Kraler’s Distress

Monday, April 23rd, 2018

“I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”
— Anne Frank

It has been a distinct pleasure to perform in the company of some accomplished dramatic artists. I felt like a novice throughout our local production of The Diary of Anne Frank. There were times when the angst of my character, Mr. Kraler, spilled over into my off-stage being. So, naturally, I fell back on my own art and made a collage miniature as a creative catharsis. After a bit of sadness when the Secret Annex set was struck, I found myself eager to spend more time in the studio.

Mr. Kraler’s Distress
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8.25 x 9.375 inches
collection of the artist

Posted in Catharsis, Collage, Events, Homage, J A Dixon, Set Design | No Comments »

from the diary of a collage artist . . .

Saturday, April 7th, 2018

Opened by Customs was created in Lysaker, Norway, after Schwitters emigrated from Nazi Germany in 1937. Here he attempted to continue his Merzbau, or Cathedral of Erotic Misery, which he had begun in c.1923 in his apartment in Hanover. While living in Norway his work was exhibited in his homeland in the Nazi Degenerate Art exhibition. He left Norway for Britain in 1940 when Germany invaded the country. … The complex mesh of language and layers that comprise the work suggests a correspondingly complex web of ideas and emotions. The turmoil of the period (experienced by Schwitters as well as other German émigrés) is conveyed through the conflicting languages, both printed and handwritten, and the fierce red marks added using stamps, cut-outs and daubings. The titular German customs label, which takes a prominent position at the top left of the work, points to a lack of personal autonomy and compounds the sense that Schwitters is escaping ideological oppression. The lack of cohesion – the texts run in several different directions – may be indicative of the upheaval that both the artist and the continent were undergoing at this time.”
— Hana Leaper

When it was announced that the artwork of my friend and fellow collage artist Robert Hugh Hunt would be featured to promote the planned production of “A Diary of Anne Frank,” the long-dormant Thespian awakened inside of me. In a moment of pure impulse, I showed up at the audition and soon found myself cast in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

I admit to woefully underestimating the commitment of time and inward focus, not having been involved with theater for nearly fifty years. As a result, my studio work surface has lain fallow and my sense of personal priorities has been throttled. Perhaps you’ve experienced something similar to this — an abrupt, self-generated break in routine that causes the discomfort of withdrawal, but at the same time, a positive awareness that the impending return to creative output will bring a new, energized perspective.
An unforeseen synchronicity is the juxtaposition of performing a character in dread of Nazi abuse with my evolving thoughts about what it must have been like for Kurt Schwitters as he fled his homeland, or when he escaped peril a second time as Germany invaded Norway. I had no conscious regard for treading into this emotional process when I walked down the street to my local community theater. Weeks later, I have no illusions about ever being able to simulate the terror that people endured during those years.

I am gratified to be part of a fine ensemble in an exceptional play. If you happen to be in my neck of the woods, get a ticket for our show before the seats are filled.

Promotional items for our local production feature
the mixed-media artwork of Robert Hugh Hunt.

Posted in Events, J A Dixon, K Schwitters, Priorities, R H Hunt | No Comments »

Mouse in the House

Saturday, March 31st, 2018

“You can’t really make ideas, create ideas. You know, all ideas are the same. They just wander by. If your house has mice, you never know when they’re going to show up, or how, or in which room. and great ideas are the same. They’re like mice. Just a mouse. A mouse in the house. And you step on its tail and you go, ‘Hold it, buddy.’”
— Jerry Seinfeld

Ideas will suggest ingredients, but, as often as not, ingredients will spark ideas. Actually, I prefer the latter. In discussing the groundbreaking Merz pictures of Schwitters, curator Isabel Schulz asserts that his materials “surrender their original function … but not all semantic meaning.” Those meanings can generate layers of additional meaning when ingredients combine in synergy. Before long, if the exterminator is not on site, the house is happily full of mice.

Mouse in the House
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4.75 x 5.5 inches

Purchase this artwork.

Posted in 1) Available!, Collage, Ingredients, J A Dixon, K Schwitters, Merz | No Comments »

The “Collagesmith” as Artisan

Saturday, March 24th, 2018

“Even in the absence of inspiration and talent, I think that through sheer craft you can actually create extremely good work, all the time, reliably. Great work is something else. I think for great work you also need a lot of luck. You can only aspire to really good work. The great work either happens or it doesn’t.”
— Christoph Niemann

Sloppy collage artwork has never held much appeal for me. Individuals might define “sloppy” differently, so I’ll rephrase that. I have always found well-crafted collage artwork to be the most appealing. In practice, I have aspired to the highest level of artisanship to which I am capable. According to my peculiar notions, the very nature of collage as a “mash-up” of visual ingredients suggests that one resist all the inherent temptations to condone careless techniques. To do anything less is a disservice to the medium, and strikes me as being a bit lazy.

I have been at this long enough to contrast current activity with a study of my “early” work. I perceive it now as more crisp and aligned with my long stint as a designer and illustrator. I remain proud of craftsmanship that continues to challenge my present hand skills. Like everyone who sticks around, I have moved relentlessly toward a period of life when manual dexterity and vision are unlikely to improve. At any rate, clean, precise work is more about attitude and personal commitment than it is about facility. Lately, on the other hand, I have sought a more organic, less contrived look — the impression that a piece is naturally the way it should be, rather than appear too obviously composed and belabored. As I work, I try not to permit the goal of a somewhat softer and cohesive whole to suggest a relaxation of craft. In fact, I have gradually introduced steps in the process that demand extra time and attention: sanding the reverse side of ingredients for adhesive-saturated compression and eliminating white edges on printed scrap to enhance a seamless effect. I combine that with ample burnishing and some hair-dryer prep before curing time under weight, followed by multiple light-touch coats of matte sealant. I would rather be thinking about practical methodology or a musical playlist than what is literally evolving on the surface before me, allowing that to be as intuitive as possible.

And perhaps (just maybe), Lady Luck will smile.

Cosmic Crucifixion
mixed-media collage by J A Dixon
2006, 16 x 16 inches
available for purchase

Posted in Artifacts, C Niemann, Collage, Criticism, Graphic Design, Illustration, Ingredients, J A Dixon, Larger Works, Methodology, Priorities, Technique | No Comments »

Abstraction in Collage

Saturday, March 10th, 2018

“In the ’20s, dadaist Kurt Schwitters collected bits of detritus such as cigar bands and bus tickets and used them in collages. They were shocking then but with the passage of time have taken on the aura of classics: vibrantly colored and harmonious arrangements of abstract forms and only incidentally assemblages of junk.”
— John Ashbery

About a hundred years ago, a handful of Europeans had set out to invent what we now know as the medium of collage. Nearly all of them were painters. From the beginning, collage was rooted in modern art concepts that were emerging at the same time — the fundamentals of abstraction. Thus, the evolution of abstraction and collage in the 20th century are entwined, and remain so in a burst of contemporary activity in this post-centennial period. Next year will mark a full century of Merz. Artists working in collage abstraction carry the “creative code” of Kurt Schwitters and his seminal innovations. But, allow me to pause here and point out something that has become increasingly obvious: conventional art history was woefully male centered. Intentionally or not, the discipline would downplay or ignore many exceptional women artists, and that includes collage antecedents which were largely the domain of females, especially in the domestic or folk arts. For example, an interesting feature at moowon.com highlights the forgotten art of Chinese textile collage. Picasso lifted visual ideas from tribal cultures. Cornell borrowed techniques tied directly to Victorian crafts. We understand that now. Modern art did not spring fully formed from the brow of Zeus like the armored goddess Athena. Fast forward to 2018. Many of the most accomplished and widely recognized collage artists of today are women. And the best part is that we know about them.

Melinda Tidwell is one of the dedicated abstractionists in collage that I enjoy following. She has a solid and very articulate designer “upstairs” guiding each decision, but her regard for the unexpected is a strong part of her intuition. Last summer, she published a two-part discussion of “order versus disorder” at her blogsite. It features abstractions by Lance Letscher and is well worth checking out.

Please indulge me as I share examples of collage abstraction from artists who continue to favorably capture my eye. Some of them range into mixed media in a way that remains very much collage. Others are strictly “painting with paper.”

Merz is alive and well in the 21st century, my friends.

(title unknown)
abstract collage by L Letscher

(title unknown)
abstract collage by M Tidwell

11zc18
abstract collage by Z Collins

Elysburg IV
abstract collage by C Chapman

Ellington
abstract collage by D McKenna

Osmosis 3
abstract collage by C Emeleus

Antoinette
abstract collage by W Strempler

Music
abstract collage by S Kraft

from her series, BALANCE
abstract collage by S A Herman

Day 18 of 40
abstract collage by C Neubauer

Red Cottage — from her series, SENSE OF PLACE
abstract collage by P A Turner

(title unknown)
abstract collage by J C Martin

Reap
abstract collage by G Cooper

Cognitives and Conclusions
abstract collage by S Ringler

Dynamic Stability
abstract collage by J A Dixon

Purchase this artwork.

Posted in Abstraction, C Chapman, C Emeleus, C Neubauer, Collage, Cubism, D Ellington, D McKenna, Folk Art, G Cooper, Influences, J A Dixon, J C Martin, J Cornell, J Gris, K Schwitters, L Letscher, M Tidwell, Merz, P A Turner, P Picasso, S A Herman, S Kraft, S Ringler, W Strempler, Z Collins | No Comments »

Scrutiny of the Leper

Saturday, March 3rd, 2018

Scrutiny of the Leper
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5 x 6.875 inches
available for purchase

Posted in 1) Available!, Crafted Series, J A Dixon | No Comments »

a light of meaning . . .

Wednesday, February 28th, 2018

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.”
— Carl Gustav Jung

I come from a family heritage of people who have sought meaning in devotional activity. Whether or not I carry on their particular practice, a subconscious inheritance often bubbles to the surface through my creative rituals. I’ll leave it to others to suggest if any spark of light has been kindled. It would be gratifying to think so.

Uncle Art’s Homilies
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4 x 5 inches

Purchase this artwork.

Posted in 1) Available!, J A Dixon, Symbolism | No Comments »

Coordinates Askew

Monday, February 12th, 2018

Coordinates Askew
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6.125 x 7.0625 inches

Purchase this artwork.

Posted in 1) Available!, J A Dixon | No Comments »

Wednesday, February 7th, 2018

Happy Birthday to Meg Higgins, an exceptional collage artist!

Love of Beer
collage on Samuel Adams coaster, 4 x 4 inches
Haus of Cards, series Pi, J A Dixon
collection of M Higgins

Posted in Gift Art, Haus of Cards, J A Dixon, M Higgins | No Comments »

details of Wetland

Monday, February 5th, 2018

“It’s always better not to talk about it. Just f—ing do it. Don’t ’splain it. Especially if you’re getting away with it.”
— Harrison Ford

I stopped by the exhibition where Wetland is on display and made a few phone-camera croppings. I guess that I wouldn’t have a blog if I usually didn’t like to talk about my work, but, since I’m not in a wordy mood, I’ll let the images speak for themselves this time. Thanks for looking! The show in downtown Danville lasts until February 24th.