fred free (www.notpaper.net)

How am I going to choose favourites? Is what I asked myself when coming to this artist post. I love the natural quality of his work, and I admire his collage book collections. I urge you to explore more of his work!

Name (Real or Screename): fred free
URL (Blog, Website): http://www.fredfree.com/
Location (Where are you from?): Boston, MA

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Documentationalismistic. And more!

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Found photos, my photos, diagrams, bar codes, radio static, videoclips, paper and cardboard, pencils, tape, oilbars, toys, numbers, letters, words and sentence fragments, non-english languages, other people, random internet searches, email spam, photoshop, my son, books to put things into, books to take things out of, signs, roads, libraries, fences, big spaces, time, weather, emotions, instinct, process. And glue.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I've been making collages since I was a kid—which means for about 40 years—but I only got more serious about it in the early 90s. I started like any other kid and restarted because I found some old medical photo slides in a trashcan at a laundromat at the right time of my life.

Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I am an artist and at-home dad for my 8 year old son.

Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: I went to RISD in the early 80s and came out with degrees and experience in fine arts and architecture, which I practiced into the early 90s.

Q: Explain your favourite techniques.
A: I'm not really into techniques as a focal point in my work so I don't have any favorites to explain. Much of that has to do with coming out of the architecture profession where technique and skill were overly emphasized to the detriment of ideas and experimentation—at least in my experience. Much also has to do with my answer to the next question.

Q: Describe your favourite piece ever created.
A: I don't have a personal favorite, but I have favorite moments though—when the work is flowing out of me in ways that I don't seem to control. There is a feeling that all of the pieces of a potential collage know where they want to go and how they want to get there without my help. It's a trip and i'm just there for the ride.

Q: What other artists do you admire?
A: Rauschenburg, Schwitters, Cornell, Venezky, Wilkins, Tomato, Fluxus, Koolhaas, Holl, Cage, Eno, Byrne, Underworld, Greenaway.

Thanks Fred!