Phyllis Schwartz

Phyllis Schwartz
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

STATEMENT

My interest in handmade (analogue) collage grew out of my fascination for juxtaposition in film and in flipping through fashion magazines. I combine disparate elements to convey complex stories through a single image. With nothing more than a pair of scissors and a glue stick, I layer together pictures from news, fashion, and architecture magazines to create hybridized images that challenge traditional notions
of context and meaning. Through this recomposition process, I seek to explore the role that visual communication plays in shaping perceptions and influencing behaviour.

My work emerges from a spontaneous and improvisational process with the intent of inviting the viewer to take a moment to look again for a surprise in the clashing of imagery. Each collage is a voyage into the unknown that awaits my discovery of my compositional intentions and occult narratives. My body of work is intended to be playful and engaging. Through this exploration of visual language, I hope to inspire questions that will drive viewers into their experimental artistic quests.

BIO

Phyllis Schwartz is a multi-media artist who works in publishing, ceramics, collage, and photography. She holds a degree in photography from Emily Carr University and was given the Canon Photography Award (2010). Her work is held in public, business, and private collections, and has been installed, exhibited,
and published locally, nationally, and worldwide.

Born in Brooklyn, raised in Texas, and educated in the Midwest, Schwartz moved to Western Canada in the 1970s, where she established roots and expanded her artistic practice. She grew up in an artistic household, surrounded by clicking cameras, maquettes, and debates about art exhibitions.

Biology class was her first opportunity to learn observational drawing, an early lesson in blind contour drawing and trusting eye-hand coordination. Schwartz began making photographs with a box camera at the age of seven and always had a camera with her, especially when she travelled, early evidence of her
interest in detail and situational portraits. Throughout her teaching career, she infused art assignments into the academic subjects she taught and found creative ways to engage students in art experiences as part of the course content. During those years, Schwartz spent long nights making her own art until she found a way to move from a teaching practice into an artist practice that included guest teaching and residencies, which in turn allowed more time for artmaking and curatorial work.

ARTIST CONTACT

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IMAGES