This week is full of Canadian collage artists, ironic that this is a Canadian blog! The first is Paul Butler, who makes interesting graphic collages by crossing out words, and cutting images out of magazines so you can see through to the next page. He's talked about having "Collage Parties" here, and I am interested to find out more! Aren't you? This sounds like a great idea.
Name (Real or Screename): Paul Butler
URL (Blog, Website): theotherpaulbutler.com
othergallery.com
Location (Where are you from?): b. 1973, Winnipeg, Canada
Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Social art.
Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Different people and their ideas.
Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: Since 1997. I had worked in drawing up until then, but as I was nearing my graduation and entrance into the ‘real world’, I felt I didn’t have much to contribute to the history of drawing, so I turned to collage. Soon after, I started hosting Collage Parties.
Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I direct the nomadic OtherGallery.com as well.
Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: A Diploma in art with a major in drawing.
Q: Explain your favorite techniques.
A: The ‘One-Two’ move where you combine two elements, then walk away. I try to resist the temptation to overwork a piece.
A: I can’t think of a favorite, but my last show was made up of a series of title pages from books where I intervened by whiting-out everything but words like “Family”, “Everybody” and “Friends”. I wanted to take the artist out of the work, and deconstruct them to common denominators that anyone could enter.
Q: What other artists do you admire?
A: Right now, I like Gordon Matta-Clark, Tom Marioni, and Hirshhorn – mainly conceptual and social artists.
Thanks Paul!
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hooray for canadian talent and canadian blogs! i bet canadian collage parties are better than regular collage parties.