I’m not going to lie, going into Monday’s workshop, I wasn’t expecting to get much out of that class period. I thought it would be a good time to start thinking about the final project and get a head start on the work, but I didn’t think it would really help me to think about the class material at all. Well, I was wrong. One of the first things I realized when I started working on my collage was that I suck at arts and crafts. Okay, so maybe I realized this multiple years ago, but I must have forgotten or stopped caring at some point. Either way, it made me realize just how time-consuming creating a single collage is. It took me the entire class just to come up with an idea, find the necessary pieces, and to cut out just a few of the images I wanted. I’d always thought of collages as a less impressive form of art (the few times I’ve ever thought about them), but Max Ernst and the process of creating one of my own have changed my mind. It’s extremely impressive to me that Max Ernst was able to create an entire book of collages in just three weeks. To come up with that many ideas and to be able to execute them in that short amount of time is really incredible to me. It really gives me an appreciation for what a master can accomplish at his craft.
3 thoughts on “Collage Workshop”
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It’s really wonderful when people experience the art to go along with what they’re studying. I’ve always found it helpful to understand a craft when I learn how to analyze it as well. Collage is definitely an interesting craft or artform. People often forget how versatile it is and how much it can do.
I agree, coming up with an idea took forever and was the hardest part for me. I’m in disbelief that an entire book of collages was made in 3 weeks. I like the fact that we tackle what we’re learning ourselves in this class. It does lend a unique appreciation when you’re asked to take over as the artist.
I completely agree that this process was surprisingly time consuming. I found a new sense of appreciation for Ernst’s work having had this experience. I wanted to cut out several shapes during the class period but the shapes I wanted to cut were very intricate therefore I only finished cutting out 5 shapes. It made me realize that if I want to intricately cut out each shape and piece the collage together neatly, I will have to put aside a ton of time for the cutting portion of the work.