“Collage is a fantastic tool to modulate the strain of life and associated feelings.”
— Laurie Kanyer
This one was started some time ago, in response to the Paradise conflagration, but I had no determination to finish it until after a deadly storm front came through our region last Saturday.
If you can, please reach out to help.
Ticket to Trauma
collage catharsis by J A Dixon
8.25 x 10.625 inches
available for purchase
Forgot to Commit Sins (diptych 7)
collage miniatures by J A Dixon
1.75 x 1.75 inches each
left square | right square
Purchase Award / The Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection
Things happen as we wait.
Good things to be remembered forever.
To Make and Do
collage artwork by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
(for the #findingcalmwhilewewait project)
Let her hopes not be diminished.
May her aspirations be magnified.
Dreams Intensified
collage artwork by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
(for the #findingcalmwhilewewait project)
“For some time, we have been inspired by the work of mr.babies. He frequently uses large eyes and sweeping vistas. His work, while expressive and multicolored, also hints at the human longing for place. mr.babies is known for posting a series of images that integrate one shared element placed on a variety of backgrounds At the end of the series, the viewer often finds the completed piece. To us, this visually represents the (often lifelong) journey to find belonging.”
— Doug + Laurie Kanyer
Kindly take a look at my submission to the OPEN CALL opportunity by the Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection on the theme of “finding a place of my own.” The Yakima-based couple are building a repository of contemporary collage and using Instagram, Facebook, and other devices to elevate their agenda in the art world.
My take on this idea is to turn inward on the medium of collage itself, with a veteran “Merzologist” mentoring his young protégé on the intricacies of the Kurt Schwitters legacy.
I’ve explored placing the central element against different backgrounds from my previous compositions, according to the constraints of the project. A final pasted version integrates the same subject within an entirely new “terrain” of ingredients created specifically for the entry. It’s my first official salute to a hundred years of Merz — in all likelihood, the most pioneering concept in the history of collage.
As an artist, Merz means more to me than finding a place of my own. In the words of the great innovator, it is about “creating relationships, preferably between all things in the world.” I know that I’ve used the quotation a number of times at this site, but is it not as true today as it ever has been? Upwards of 500 works have been submitted to the Kanyer exercise from artists worldwide, another indication of how collage has exploded in the emerging era of social networks.
The Apprentice Merzologist
collage on book cover by J A Dixon
8.5 x 11 inches
part of the #findingaplaceofmyown project