Collage: Contemporary Artists Hunt and Gather, Cut and Paste, Mash Up and Transform
by Danielle Krysa
“Jealousy to Inspiration”
book review by Benoit Depelteau
Which artist, upon the discovery of a striking piece of art, has never said: ‘’Damn, I wish I thought of that?’’ It is precisely the premise under which Vancouver collage artist Danielle Krysa started, in 2009, The Jealous Curator, a blog dedicated to her (heartrending) discoveries in contemporary art. Although, at first, the works she shared often did gave her some doubts regarding her own work, Krysa managed to eventually transform this ‘’jealousy’’ into inspiration. Since then, her blog gathered an expanded audience, she created a series of workshops and she published Creative Block, a book in which 50 artists present their tips to stay inspired.
For her second book, unlike her blog that covers the whole spectrum of contemporary art and beyond, the author has chosen to address the subject of collage. Of course, according to her trademark, she approached the project in a very personal way and the selection of 30 artists is mostly driven by her own taste. Nevertheless, the choices she made also underscore a strong understanding of current collage, its practices and trends.
In a world of eye catching images and punch lines, Krysa opted to present artists with a distinctive style and a highly coherent body of work. Moreover, with a desire to assemble an accurate portrait of today’s practice, she made sure that her selections depict the rich panorama of styles present in today’s collage practice.
Krysa even found a surprising way to represent collaboration, another key aspect of collage culture. She provided an image to all participating artists to be used as a starting point for a new work to be included in the book. It’s fascinating to witness the diverse propositions artists created and how well these pieces blend nicely in their respective work.
Being reproduced on a full-page scale in each artist’s opening spread, these images have a strong presence and allow the reader to contemplate every tiny detail and texture. But, in a few specific cases, the comparison with other collages, presented much smaller, might give the impression that more larger images would have helped to fully appreciate the artist’s work.
Collage nicely documents the medium’s diversity and creativity. It is a relevant portrait as well as a vibrant homage to recent collage practice.
This review appeared in Issue Ten of Kolaj Magazine. PURCHASE ISSUE TEN or SUBSCRIBE.
Collage: Contemporary Artists Hunt and Gather, Cut and Paste, Mash Up and Transform
by Danielle Krysa
7.32”x9.27”, 176 pages, $33.95 CAD
ISBN: 9781452124803
Raincoast Books, Vancouver, British Columbia
2014
IMAGE
Lift
by Mahmoud Popal
2013
from Collage: Contemporary Artists Hunt and Gather, Cut and Paste, Mash Up and Transform