Counting Cards
collage miniature by J A Dixon
3.5 x 5.25 inches
on consignment
Archive for the ‘Artists/Collage’ Category
Counting Cards
Thursday, August 28th, 2014Still more from the Haus . . .
Thursday, August 21st, 2014“Giving gifts to others is a fundamental activity, as old as humanity itself. Yet in the modern, complex world, the particulars of gift-giving can be extraordinarily challenging.”
― Andrew Weil
For good or ill, I have reduced gift-giving to a flagrant simplicity: the personal collage miniature, disguised as a greeting card. I adopted the practice long ago and, so far, I seem to be getting away with it.
Pool Partied
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of B Morris
Pancreation
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of M J Bowling
Buddhas and Hunks
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of M Higggins
SuperTim
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of T Rice
To the rule breakers . . .
Thursday, August 14th, 2014“Individualism is rather like innocence; there must be something unconscious about it.”
— Louis Kronenberger
I often look back on the image of a personal miniature, long released into the intended realm of a friend, and I have no recollection of the process it underwent, but only a strong sense of the personality who inspired it. This is how it should be. I tend to be dubious of any artworks which retain too much of my methodology in their finished state. Calculation and contrivance are somehow out of place in a collage, but, of course, there are glorious exceptions to every rule. This also is how it should be.
Untitled (for Irina)
collage miniature by J A Dixon
estate of Irina Ilina
uncommon kindness . . .
Thursday, August 7th, 2014An artist can anticipate nothing more gratifying than to form a sincere connection to another — someone who will discover satisfaction or meaning in one’s creation. As many collage practitioners already know, it is not a frequent experience for those of us who cannot bring ourselves to pander. It is more irregular to find a buyer who wants to live with an artwork. And beyond the satisfaction of a sale, there are those uncommon times when a corresponding creative act takes place in response, and one is the recipient of a profound kindness.
An Art Form Called Collage
by Patty Seitz
Images placed upon a blank paper just so
Or perhaps they were just placed
With no particular pattern in mind
The story emerging on its own
Developing as each image is carefully cut
Then positioned by the artist
By themselves they speak one message
Placed together they speak another
The dictionary says these are
“Various materials not normally associated with one another”
But when we see them together
Their association seems to have existed for a life time
And they bond as if they will never be apart again
Together they speak one language
Using each individual voice to create a harmony
That is most pleasing to the eye
Silk Road Triumphant
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6.5 x 8 inches
collection of P B Seitz
Even more Haus of Cards
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014“Somebody said once or wrote once: ‘We’re all of us children in a vast kindergarten trying to spell God’s name with the wrong alphabet blocks!’”
― Tennessee Williams, Suddenly Last Summer
As is true with many graphic artists, I have been fascinated by letterforms since childhood. The first time I rendered the word “ICE” with frozen encrustations, it felt like a rite of passage for me. One of the reasons I shunned store-bought greeting cards in favor of my hand-crafted versions was to indulge a love affair with custom lettering. As collage miniatures began to dominate the character of my card making, the alphabet remained a key part of the visual vocabulary. As my enthusiasm for the medium of collage continued to expand, symbolic language became a re-occurring, vital ingredient in nearly all my artistic compositions.
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of A D Kenner
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of C Dixon
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of D R Dixon
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of E Debarone
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of R W Breidenbach
Toll Taker
Monday, July 7th, 2014With my birthday more than two months behind me, age 62 is now feeling old hat, but I have not forgotten about the gift from Ted Tollefson. His collage on beer coaster sparked a strong desire to reciprocate. Toll Taker is the result, and one could say I was “under the influence” of his cool style. It shall be sent it to him promptly with a couple more surprises.
Toll Taker
collage on Lore Brewing coaster
J A Dixon, 4 x 4 inches
collection of T Tollefson
A Book About Death ~ Wales
Thursday, July 3rd, 2014“The project has become The Book About Living.”
—Sonja Benskin Mesher
Ray Johnson, the original “most famous unknown artist in the world,” produced his A Book About Death during the years 1963 to 1965. The pages were randomly mailed and offered for sale. Complete copies were compiled by a rare few. Johnson was a significant bridge between the groundbreaking work of Schwitters, the sensibilities of Cornell, and the emergence of what would become the most widely recognizable features of Pop Art. He was highly influential in the Mail Art, Installation Art, and Performance Art movements, as well as late 20th-century neo-Dadaist trends.
Since 2008, Paris-based Matthew Rose has actively aroused a worldwide interest and vitality that perpetuates the legacy of A Book About Death. A new call to artists from the Royal Cambrian Academy in Wales and the full history of ABAD can be studied at this site. An exhibition at MoMA Machynlleth planned for later this year will include a collage from me (featured below, produced on a 50-year-old postcard). An online archive will share details of the exhibition and record artworks as they come in. Participate! You have until September 30th to mail your contribution.
ABAD 2014
collage on 1964 postcard by J A Dixon
6 x 4 inches, not for sale
Another journal experiment
Friday, June 27th, 2014
Untitled (Speak No Evil)
collage experiment by J A Dixon
7.5 x 11.5 inches
“Oh, the Places You’ll Go”
Friday, June 20th, 2014“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.”
— Twyla Tharp
Places to go, ways to travel, and flights of fancy . . . A series of local exhibitions at the Boyle County Public Library’s Mahan Gallery has been an effective catalyst for me to create new pieces based on unifying themes. I have recently experienced mixed emotions about the ubiquity of vintage material in contemporary collage, but the topic of this show had me hunting through my morgue of old postcards and other relics to produce a pair of artworks on canvas. Yes, we all dig the instant “gravitas” of using old stuff, but will art historians say we copped out, if we do not accept the challenge of working with ingredients from our own present-day culture? I am just musing about the state of the medium, not any artist in particular. I see a hundred or more collage artworks posted online each week that rely exclusively on 20th-century material, and much of it seems stuck in a bygone avant-garde style. It is important for all of us to keep in mind that the Dada artists so widely emulated worked with material from their own time. Perhaps the opportune approach is to blend it all together, past and present. As post-centennial collage artists, we also owe each other a bit more constructive criticism than I currently observe. As the details below illustrate, I have absolutely nothing against using vintage material. I think that artists such as Hope Kroll or Fred Free or Matthew Rose (to offer only three examples) are creating some of the more exceptional work in the medium. On the other hand, there are many who seem to be using it as a crutch, over-relying on the antique impression of the ingredient material itself, rather than the juxtapositional synergy or overall aesthetic effect.
As the artworks for “Places” also demonstrate, I continue my effort to liberate a collage from the traditional glass barrier. To do so, it is necessary to find a proper level of protective sealant to balance visual appeal and durability. I prefer to avoid an overly polymerized impression with a finished surface. Because I primarily work with found material, I have had to learn which ingredients can handle direct exposure (for an effect similar to the painted surface). Nevertheless, some are simply too fragile and will always require a safe abode under glass.
left: Here and There (detail)
right: Now and Then (detail)
two collage artworks on canvas by J A Dixon
12 x 12 x 1.5 inches each
available for purchase
Many Waters Under Heaven
Friday, June 13th, 2014“Put stardom and success aside and just go out and do it. It’s like painting. Don’t talk about it. Or, like writing. Put it down.”
— Jonathan Winters“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”
— Andy Warhol
After learning about a call for entries on the theme of “water,” at the new First Southern Community Arts Center in nearby Stanford, Kentucky, I leaped at the theme with a minimum of thought or calculation. I was overdue for the opportunity to create a larger piece, and it was good for me to push aside all the internal questions and mental gyrations which too often intrude on the genesis of a new work or new point of public contact. I mixed a batch of wheat paste, added a stabilizing measure of white glue plus acrylic medium, and dug into my stash of nature images. Hand manipulation of the surface with wet, rectilinear ingredients became an almost papier-mâché-like process that soon involved shapes of pure color. A sort of “low-tech pixelization” began to suggest the gentle clash of primeval and present — a Garden of Eden sweeping forward to the modern digital world.
When I delivered my artwork to the gallery and was assisted by a local artist and volunteer, Roni Gilpin, I could not have been treated better. Chasing my passion for collage, meeting pleasant people, and breaking into a new venue — I must remind myself from time to time that this is what it’s all about. I am excited about today’s artist reception, 4 to 7 pm (in downtown Stanford, adjacent to the superb Bluebird Cafe). Family is visiting from Davis, California, and everything is shaping up for an exceptional evening!
Many Waters Under Heaven
mixed-media collage
by J A Dixon
33 x 11.25 x 1.5 inches
Purchase this artwork!
Roni “Sister” Gilpin
volunteering at
First Southern Community
Arts Center
Brass 25
Monday, June 9th, 2014“We need a little confusion.”
— Neil Gaiman
The Great American Brass Band Festival’s milestone 25th event is now in the archives. The finale was one of the most satisfying concerts in the history of the Kentucky festival. My appreciation goes to those who made it all happen one more time! I am pleased to have played a small part.
When I was first approached about lending my creative experience to the effort, I pitched the idea of a traditional collage to mark the 25th, using scraps from memorabilia of the last quarter century. A decision was made to go a different direction, but I could not put the idea aside. The result is “Brass 25,” a tribute to my community’s exceptional contribution to the American musical and cultural scene.
Is “commemorative collage” art? Perhaps not. Some might make the case that no example of the medium has approached “high art.” In my opinion, such a viewpoint fails to consider the 100-year impact that the medium has had on our visual landscape and the evolution of our aesthetic perceptions. It neglects the seminal role of Schwitters, Höch, Cornell, Kolář, and others. For me, the core relationship between mundane material and the art of collage transmits a unifying principle. When the remnants of ordinary life are physically re-purposed to resolve a unique compositional harmony, the culminating artifact can achieve a transcendent tone and offer a shared experience with each participating observer. If that is not art, stripped of elitist notions, then what is?
Brass 25
commemorative collage by J A Dixon
17.5 x 23.5 inches
available for purchase