Unintentional Collages
For lack of better name, an unintentional collage is like any other collage in that it is the bringing together of existing visual elements to create a new thing. However, in this case there is nothing intentional happening other than recognizing and trusting coincidence as a method of making art. In a sense these collages are found art.
It starts with me flipping through magazines, mostly fashion and interior décor, and randomly cutting out images for my image files. Naturally, the negative spaces left from where I removed an image – an eye, nose, folded arms, etc. – exposes the imagery on the following page. 99% of the time nothing all that interesting happens and I keep flipping and cutting. But sometimes, entirely by coincidence, there is a eureka moment. When the image on the following page lines up with or engages in such a way with the negative space I created on the previous page that the collage is made. Rather than working in a purposeful and direct process of adding images to each other, I’m working in a deductive and discovery process. As an artist, my job is to trust this process and recognize the art when it reveals itself.