5-30 April 2014
Sheila Margaret Mullen: “Structured Chaos: Assemblage Collage”
A themed world is created in each collage using mainly early to mid 1900s unrelated ephemera such as drug prescriptions, tin boxes, labels, advertisements and tickets; and vintage materials such as watch parts, keys, View-Master slides, microfiche and 16 mm filmstrips. The materials are originals with all of their beautiful flaws and textures intact.
Mullen said, “‘Structured Chaos’ in a way feels like the return to my architectural drawing, presentation and model-building background, blended with my love for the random and abstract. Another element that has become very important to me is the history of the ephemera I use: items from the past that were intended to be short-lived and discarded, but have become fascinating and beautiful. I don’t use reproductions, and some of the items are now valuable as well. I also find so much whimsy, nostalgia and wonder in the very old materials, and love changing their meanings through juxtaposition in a piece. I’m not sure why I love microfiche and 16mm film so much, but I think it is the combination of the translucence with the linear form. I would have a hard time creating a collage without using filmstrips. I’ve done a few without View-Master slides, and that was a push. Oh, and please don’t ask me to go without vintage tins. Or watch parts.
“Not much is meaningless in my work, and balance and form are critical. I love structuring and playing with the menagerie of the collage medium, and the hardest part often is deciding how to stop work on a piece (I usually simplify from the original multi-layered design). That is where I try to find a balance between the meaningful and deliberate detail when viewing up-close, with the visual impact when taking a few steps back.
“I started with my own concepts, but now my focus is commissioned pieces, centred on an object or theme that is important to a person. The custom collages usually include cherished items that are often tucked away out of every day view. Some of these pieces focus less on a certain era, such as my usual early to mid 1900s, and more on the characteristics and feelings surrounding the treasured item.”
Sheila Margaret Mullen has a BA from Syracuse University and an MALS Arts from Wesleyan University.
(adapted from the gallery’s press materials)
INFORMATION
The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center
605 Main Street
Middletown, Connecticut 06457 USA
(860) 347-4957
Hours:
Tuesday, 10AM-2PM
Wednesdays, 4:30-8:30PM
Fridays 2-8PM
Image:
Betty’s Ketchup
by Sheila Margaret Mullen
12″x36″
1910-1960 advertisements; 1920s-1930s catsup labels; 1940s penny scale fortune cards; 1950s View-Master slide; 1960s dome earrings; 1970s Soviet watch faces; vintage watch parts/movements; microfiche film; 16mm film; tins; skeleton keys; buttons and snaps; brass intersection fasteners
2014
Courtesy of the artist and The Buttonwood Tree, Middletown, Connecticut