March « 2017 « The Collage Miniaturist

Archive for March, 2017

I Must Have Kentucky

Sunday, March 26th, 2017

There is a new exhibition by the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea — 225: Artists Celebrate Kentucky’s History — and I am proud to have my work as part of the display.

My friend and fellow exhibitor Kathleen O’Brien wrote a fine account of the opening reception at her studio blog. She was kind enough to include some information about me.

From the KACB notice: “Kentucky has always cherished its history. The preservation of Kentucky stories, places and traditions has shaped its culture today. This exhibit includes over 60 works by 51 Kentucky artists who have recorded and celebrated numerous facets of Kentucky’s rich 225-year history. These works capture the essence of Kentucky — including its historical places, people, events, state commerce, agriculture and the state’s unique flora and fauna. Accompanied by written stories and histories in each artist’s words, this exhibit entices the viewer visually and verbally.” The show lasts until September 23, 2017.

My next entry will look a bit more closely at the work and its creation.

I Must Have Kentucky
mixed-media collage construction by J A Dixon
42.75 x 20.5 inches

• S O L D

Posted in Acrylic, Assemblage, Collage, Exhibitions, G Heffner, J A Dixon, K O’Brien, Larger Works | No Comments »

ART | GREEN | DESIGN

Sunday, March 19th, 2017

“Sustainability can’t be like some sort of a moral sacrifice or political dilemma or a philanthropical cause. It has to be a design challenge.”
— Bjarke Ingels

From the time I first paid a visit to its astonishing Jewel Room, after we moved our studio to Kentucky, I continued to sustain a high regard for Lexington’s Headley-Whitney Museum. I have written before about the lost treasures of George Headley, and how they inspired my Bibelot Series of collage miniatures, but I only recently acknowledged an undisclosed desire to have my work displayed at the institution. It pleases me to say that the daydreaming phase is over, because three of my larger works are part of their 2017 kick-off exhibition: ART | GREEN | DESIGN.

The show features examples of art and design that are inspired by and exemplify eco-friendly ideals. I am gratified to be represented among a group of exceptionally creative individuals. It causes me to realize just how much my activity in this chosen medium is driven by a practice of sorting through the cast-off material of our wasteful society and upcyling it as a worthwhile artifact. Cherry Balm, Pearallelograms, and Matthew’s Touchonic Lodge are fitting examples of that orientation.

An unidentified assemblage that I liked (left), and Kentuckian Brandon Long, my friend who creates handsome abstract squares from recycled roofing metal.

Details from three of my collage artworks, selected by the museum to include in
the show: Cherry Balm, Pearallelograms, and Matthew’s Touchonic Lodge.

Posted in 1) Available!, B Long, Exhibitions, Fruit Series, J A Dixon, Larger Works, Museums | No Comments »

Works from ‘Private Collections’ on display

Sunday, March 12th, 2017

Our local Arts Commission has recently organized a double-venue exhibition of art on loan from private collections, and I am pleased that two of my collage artworks are represented. Interestingly, these happen to be the examples of my work that have penetrated the most widely online, due to sites such as Pinterest.

Posted in Exhibitions, J A Dixon | No Comments »

a medium in need of an internal critique

Sunday, March 5th, 2017

“If you’re coasting, you’re going downhill.”
— L W Pierson

Awhile ago, someone asked a question about the trajectory of collage: “What’s Next?” To ponder that, I remind myself that one thoughtful critique is worth more than a ton of casual “likes.” Those of us who love this practice need to push beyond the comfort of mutual praise and communicate honestly about the medium of collage (not about our political attitudes). Don’t expect the lords of social media to provide a thumbs-down button. That’s not the solution (even if they do). There needs to be the virtual equivalent of the intense coffee houses and night spots of a century ago, where artists were not shy about challenging the easy answers and safe solutions.

Höch, Hausmann, Schwitters, and their fellow collage “inventors” included found material contemporary with their times. There are many current practitioners who restrict themselves to “vintage” resources, and some of them avoid using anything younger than 50 years old. Whatever they choose to do is fine, but, in my opinion, 21st-century collage artists are challenged to explore the cast-off stuff of today for potential ingredients in a fresh “school of post-centennial collage” that “documents” our own culture, rather than confine themselves to curating the artifacts of our ancestors. Remember, when KS pasted down a tram ticket in place of a brushstroke, nearly a hundred years ago, he was clearly using something that he just acquired on the street. Let’s think about that when as ask ourselves, “What’s Next?”