]]>
"A collection of instinctual paper experiments" by Brandon McLean called Peyote Poems.
via Brandon McLean
]]>
]]>
"A collection of instinctual paper experiments" by Brandon McLean called Peyote Poems.
via Brandon McLean
]]>
]]>
Ashkan has a very diverse body of work, and I very much recommend that you visit his website to take a look at it all. I had a hard time deciding which series to feature, so I just chose two that resonated with me personally. The first series, Individualism, is one I enjoyed for its use of landscape imagery and portraits simultaneously. In the second series, the void, all images are black and white and he works creatively with the negative space, filling up cutouts with pattern and texture to complete the image.
Ashkan Honarvar
www.ashkanhonarvar.com
The Netherlands
Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A reflection of the human body.
What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
All original printed materials. Old and new. But specially medical and scientific books.
How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
Almost 7 years now after I saw some collages from the propaganda artist John Heartfield. I got so fascinated by his technique. The way he used existing material to tell his story was unique.
Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
Just an artist.
Do you have any formal art training?
Yes, a BFA in illustration.
Explain your favourite techniques.
Handmade collages! There are 2 kind of collages. You have the handmade and you have the digital ones. There are a few artist/designers that can really produce something beautiful and interesting with the digital medium. But it can get quite boring. There is just no any restraint. You can scale, rotate, flip etc. As with the handmade collages it's more challenging. Here you have more restraints that can make the final piece more interesting and rewarding.
Describe your favourite piece ever created.
It's actually a project that I'm very proud of. It's called Ubakagi and it took me over one year to finish it. It's one of my most conceptual works up to date.
What other artists do you admire?
Three persons I really admire are actually all photographers. Boris Mikhailov (specially the Case History project) Antoine D'agata (he really vanishes in his own project, it's too scary) Jeffery Silverthorne. I think he's the only one able to mix death and beauty the way he does.
Thanks Ashkan!
]]>
]]>
The End is Near!
Opening Reception on March 26, 4:30 - 6:30pm
]]>
Hi everyone, we're back. Today's interview is with someone who shall remain nameless, or rather has chosen the name ▲°. I chose this selection of collages for their lovely, muted colour scheme, and soft on the eyes appeal. And the ones that stand out so starkly--I found it interesting how the work varies in colour choice when collaborating with fellow collage artist Andrei Cojocaru. Makes sense!
▲°
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25959430@N06/
Describe your work in 10 words or less.
Material and process lead explorations of subjective and objective experience.
What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
I guess I love it all really, there are so many ways materials can be introduced that the reason for enjoying it or not varies. I'm always on the hunt for different inks and printing methods to combine with papers I use for collage. Otherwise I'm digging in any paper formatted document for certain weights, colours, textures and generally imagery that might provoke ideas. Recently I have been working from a book called 'The Family, a social history of the 20th century'.
How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
Collage began gradually for me in 2009 whilst doing a foundation degree; Realizing I had unlimited free access to a photocopier whilst I was studying must have helped considerably in constructing some sort of fascination to paper.
After filling a couple of sketchbooks with quick abstract photocopying experiments I was then introduced by my housemate to this one piece of material that solidified my curiosities with working with paper. It was a series of architectural planning documents for a house in France (found in a skip in Plymouth). It's ageing had so much to it, the paper had turned a subtle beige and the ink degraded to varying dark toned purples and reds, it was complete with hand rendered dotted and dashed markings over highly contrasted images of houses, the best thing about it though was its size; a little taller than A4 and about 13ft in length folded up like a concertina! Ever since it came into my work I have been on the hunt for unique pieces of paper.
Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
I'm a student studying a creative course and my aim is to make a profession out of my work in some way, hopefully with my fellow artists' from 'Limited press collective'.
Do you have any formal art training?
Other than university, no.
Explain your favourite techniques.
I like to work with materials I can develop before creating work out of them. I also enjoy getting pretty hands on, sometimes I use a really thick rubber based ink applied thinly over printed material that allows for text and image to subtly show through yet you get a really solid black too. I use scalpels and fixatives mainly but with what can be done digitally I'm eager to try new things on computers, they have ever evolving possibilities. Working out compositions is something I'm yet to be able to explain as a technique, sometimes what to do is right in front of you, other times its not even around. Either way when you know you're getting it right it's one of the most satisfying things you can do.
Describe your favourite piece ever created.
It really is the development in my work that I get most satisfaction from, but if we're talking about singular works then I would say my latest A2 pair which are on my Flickr (one contains half an image of a cat and the remaining half is silhouetted in a skyline).
What other artists do you admire?
WAFA collective, Robert Rauschenberg, Kurt Schwitter, Sol LeWitt, Franz Kline. Anyone who is the author if an image I have added to my favourites on Flickr and finally all the Limited press collective; Ryan Orme, Tom Mattison, Joel Wyllie, Dan Paton and Josh Rose.
Thanks ▲°!
]]>
]]>
Leslie has a lot to say about her work and process, which is okay because she is so interesting! I was especially drawn to her collages using strips of paper. They are subtle and multi-dimensional--she works with very flat, simple layouts, but the textures she includes make everything really jump off the page. I loved reading in her interview about the way she came to work in such a linear way, first with ribbons. Read on!
Leslie Siegel
http://www.lesliesiegelwork.com
Brooklyn NY
Describe your work in 10 words or less.
I'm after the curious conversation between incongruous images.
What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
Yes to all three. I use all kinds of printed material but am only inspired to use very particular images and I know them when I see them. I'm attracted to discarded imagery that feels obscure and doesn't fall into any recognizable category. I'm drawn to basic, elemental, not-decorative materials and very often like the back of something more than the front. Right now I'm using the backs of old tempera paintings on paper made my boyfriend when he was 5. I'm also drawn to badly manufactured, ill-conceived materials that have a throwaway, rejected quality: a bad print run, stationery that didn't sell, stickers with no stick left, etc. I avoid the cliches of this genre including anything kitsch, velvet, paint by number, etc.
The appeal of this kind of media is giving a new home/creating another context for otherwise useless-feeling images that should never have been made in the first place because they create more waste and no one ever needed them. The best of this kind of material can be found in close-out stores that kindergarden art teachers go to stock up on popsicle sticks, looseleaf paper, foam santa parts and other small joys. I seek these stores out wherever I travel and have to make extra room in my luggage for overflowing shopping bags full of junk I might never end up using. (speaking of waste) At the other end of the spectrum I'm equally attracted to "high art" images contained in old gallery pamphlets of artist's past shows which I then combine with other unrelated imagery thus re-creating the original work--more appropriating; the appeal of all collagists. So of course I spend a lot of time in old bookstores, flea markets and yard sales looking for that hard to place image.
How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
I've been making art since I was a little girl. My parents used to give me boxes of wood pieces and pipe cleaners and felt and I would sit around gluing them together. I was kind of lonely. My father rarely came home and my mother was depressed and distracted so art, chocolate and Gilbert O'Sullivan were my saviors. I started making a form of collage more than 20 years ago which were rows of ribbon glued onto plywood. I set out to make these pieces as a way to slow down and stop rushing through things--I was hoping that this deliberate process would help me find order and that I would become a more patient person.
After exhausting the curling ribbon options from the stationery store, I found my way to satin, velvet, felt, foam, industrial belt ribbon, lace, elastic, snaps, etc. Sometime later, after I lost my studio and had to work in a smaller space, I began collaging, still focusing on stripes, with paper glued onto paper. I have since opened up to a world beyond stripes which has been liberating but I still crave the order and clarity of stripes.
Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
I work as a freelance prop stylist/set-maker for print and digital media. If it's food photography, I get all the dishes, surfaces, etc; an interior, I choose the furniture or style the room-- I am responsible for creating the environment for whatever we're shooting, big or small. I am also currently co-producing a documentary film and have directed another short film.
Do you have any formal art training?
I went to The School of Visual Arts in NYC but dropped out after a year. I was never good at school because of various learning issues but I work well independently.
Explain your favourite techniques.
I use the sturdy and efficient German-made Kutrimmer 1038 Paper Cutter that I got for my birthday and that is miles away from the very bad one I was using from Staples. It makes a very pleasing thunk sound when you chop. I try not to be too exact or deliberate about cutting which is a moment that fills me with dread because I fear I'm cutting too much. But again, I'm impatient and I like to keep things moving and get into a flow. The flow is important because the process of moving images around and finding relationships can take a while. Music and coffee are key. I sometimes use big hole punches to create dimension by incorporating a smaller contained environment onto a bigger one.
I have been drawing a lot more on top of images and often scribble for a while as a way to loosen up before I begin composing. I especially like to draw with cheap pens and magic markers that are running out of ink. I try not over-think the juxtapositions--you kind of know when there's a particular chemistry that works but there are so many possibilities and you have to seize the moment when it works.
Then there are all regretted glued things that go into a drawer to be re-cut or configured later on. I have used many polymer-based adhesives over the years but my glue of choice is UHU acid-free glue stick which gives me the flatness I want and keeps the surface purely what it is without a layer of anything clouding the image. UHU is by far the smoothest of all the sticks and allows me to lift and re-stick repeatedly. I sometimes use a single-edged razor blade for rubbing images down but mostly I just use hands. Glue on the surface happens and must be embraced.
Describe your favourite piece ever created.
Besides the collage work, I like to take pictures of little moments while traveling and when I was in Coastal Oregon, we passed a nondescript little village called--I can't remember what it was called, but the inn keeper where we had stayed the night before told us to skip it, describing it as "blue collar." We thankfully went anyway and I discovered it was a crab-trapping port town and there were just stacks and stacks of these old wooden traps full of rope and tags and buoys. There was no sun--the sky was white, it was very misty and the moody daylight was very inspiring. Someone was playing old Elvis while giving their car a wash.
I took hundreds of details of the insides of old traps and dumpsters and afterwards, we bought a steamed and cooled dungeness crab from the little old shack there and ate it on a log at the beach. My favorite collage (the first image in the cut/glue series) is part of a series which incorporates idyllic nature photography from the 70s with images from 1950s-era floor tile catalogs. (see 'about' on website for more on this series) It is a good marriage of the fake and the real, nature and the opposite of nature.
What other artists do you admire?
Too many, no order. Daniel Buren, Gabriel Orozco, Christian Boltanski, Pippilotti Rist, Patricia Urquiola, David Hammons, Yayoi Kusama, Walter Niedermayr, Tara Donovan, Andreas Gursky, Pierre Bonnard, Willliam Eggleston, Bruce Conner, Rosemarie Trockel, Robert Rauschenberg, Diane Arbus, Sigmar Polke, Jeff Depner, Louise Bourgeois, Pedro Almodovar, Cy Twombly, Milton Glaser, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Dieter Rams, George Maciunas, Roxy Paine, James Gallagher, Eva Vermeiren
Thanks Leslie!
]]>
]]>
Sorry for the little lapse, Notpaper is based out of Canada again!
Daniel Zender
http://danielzender.com/index.php?/random/artworks/
Springfield, MO
Describe your work in 10 words or less.
My collage work is: surreal, colorful, spontaneous, fun, stimulating, weird, um....
What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
I find photographs, and use the blocks of colors in the backgrounds of them for the majority of my work. Sometimes I use construction paper or halftone textures from photocopies, and recently letraset typography for some poster work.
How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
Not until very recently did I start dabbling in collages. I was looking for a way to play outside of my conceptual, client based design and illustration work.
Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
I also teach a design class at Missouri State University and work at a coffeehouse occasionally.
Do you have any formal art training?
I have my BFA from MSU.
Explain your favourite techniques.
Sketching, then silkscreen, cutting and pasting, inking, and experimenting always.
Describe your favourite piece ever created.
The one that comes to mind first is an image I made of Little Red Riding Hood, which I created first using cut paper, and colored digitally. It takes everyone a second to see the wolf, which is why I love it so much. Also, I have gotten some freelance work out of it, so that is nice too.
What other artists do you admire?
Too many to name, and not enough related to collage to really mention... recently I have been really digging Fortunato Depero.
Thanks Daniel!
]]>
]]>
Collage portraits are always so interesting, it's fun to see how people approach them (and usually seem very complicated to me). These collage drawings by B.A. Lampman are a great combination--I love the ghostly white outlines on patterned paper. They remind me in atmosphere of Teri Donovan's collage paintings, which makes me like them even more.
B.A. Lampman
www.balampman.blogspot.com, also www.inflatableeye.com
Victoria, BC, Canada
Describe your work in 10 words or less.
Tells a story, though no-one's sure what it's about.
What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
I like to work primarily with magazines and illustrated books from the 50's, 60's, and 70's. I use whatever appeals to me--it could be people, or background stuff, or patterns.
How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
In art school I was painting more than anything else, and during my last year there I was painting on un-stretched (loose) canvas that had pieces of canvas "collaged" on top (I would collage first and then paint on top of all the layers). I have no memory of what prompted me to start doing that. At the same time I started doing collage in my sketchbook--again, I have no memory of what prompted it (this would be about 20 years ago). I do think that what cemented my relationship with collage a couple of years later was having limited space and a toddler to deal with--I could find a little space at the kitchen table to cut & paste, but painting large canvases was something else entirely.
Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
I have worked for many years at an art supply store. For the last few years I have been their "educational salesperson", selling art supplies to teachers and schools. I am also the mail order person, plus I answer all email queries to do with art supplies, et cetera.
Do you have any formal art training?
I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts (with Distinction) from Concordia University in Montreal.
Explain your favourite techniques.
I have amassed quite a number of the above-mentioned magazines and illustrated books, and my favourite part of the process is leafing through them to find something that piques my interest (I don't normally start with any particular idea in mind, unless I am doing a CD cover or something like that). As I go along I'll find things that I think will look good together, or better yet that make me laugh when they're put together. I always say I'm going to try and work more quickly and loosely, but I rarely do. I usually end up spending a long time carefully constructing a scene that seems to have a strong narrative, whether I intend it to or not. Having said that, my last batch were all faces--I started combining collage and painting, and I think I've opened a can of worms that is far from exhausted (if you can exhaust a can of worms. I bet you can).
Describe your favourite piece ever created.
I honestly don't have one favourite. I have opinions on which pieces are better and which are weaker, but no absolute favourites.
What other artists do you admire?
I'm sure there are many, but the three that are springing to mind right now are Peter Doig, Shary Boyle, and Wayne White.
Thanks B.A.!
]]>
]]>
What a wonderful night! Thanks to Charles Wilkin for curating the exhibit, everyone was wonderfully represented. As frustrating as my night began (it took me 4 hours to get there from Philly because of traffic, then missed the bus back) it was a really great event and I am glad to have gone.
I met many people I have interviewed over the years, Lilianna Pereira, Fred Free, John Gall, April Gertler, Clara Mata, and Ciara Phelan, all of whom were wonderful to talk to and made me feel so special. It was so nice to catch up with everyone and great that they could come from so far away (Clara from Spain, Ciara from the UK, April from California). Also met Charles and James Gallagher, who I will be interviewing soon!
If you didn't get a chance to attend the opening, the show runs until November 19th. Definitely worth checking out! Read more about the show here and here.
]]>
]]>
Ashley Joseph Edwards
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47385468@N08/
Kent, United Kingdom
Describe your work in 10 words or less.
Imaginative/Crazy/Triangles/Abstraction/Distortion/The World Through my Eyes.
What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
Vintage Images, family sourced photos, black and white images, 1950's photographs in particular.
How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
I've been seriously collaging for the past couple of years now. I discovered collage when I was in my first year at Kingston University when one of my friends introduced me to the work of Julien Pacaud, seeing his work was a true inspiration having never seen anything like it before. Around this time I had been given over 1000 images from my Grandads past, they were from the 1950's and 1960's, intrigued by the work of Julien I wanted to give collage a go, using my grandads photos, the combination of bold colours and shapes I discovered my own style of collage.
Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
By profession I'm a Graphic Designer, collage and Graphic design come hand in had, without what I've learnt from my graphics I wouldn't be able to create the collages that I do, considering that most of them are digitally made.
Do you have any formal art training?
Graphic Design.
Explain your favourite techniques.
All my projects start with a drawing of a concept that I've thought about (strangely most of my best ideas come from when I'm in the back seat of a car). After discovering what I want to create, I go about finding the images, im constantly saving/scanning/taking photos so I look through my files to see if I can find the specific images that Im looking for. In some cases I print out all the images and use a craft knife to assemble/balance the collage, but most of my collages are assembled on the computer, I like the clean cuts that you can achieve on the computer that aren't possible by hand, also the wide variations of colours that can be easily added.
Describe your favourite piece ever created.
My favorite piece is my most recent '//city//retreat//', It shows how when you live in the city you can only but wish to be in the fresh open air.
What other artists do you admire?
Julian pacaud, Mario Wagner
Thanks Ashley!
]]>
]]>
All That Remains
I am looking forward to attending this show on Friday! Hope to see you there.
Here's a list of participants:
Paul Burgess, Virginia Echeverria, Fred Free, John Gall, James Gallagher, April Gertler, Jenkins, Gordon Magnin, Clarita Mata, Jeffrey Meyer, Tom Moglu, Randy Mora, Nicole Natri, Julien Pacaud, Ciara Phelan, Emmanuel Polanco, Eduardo Recife, Kareen Rizk, Javier Rodriguez, Valerie Roybal, Katherine Streeter, Leigh Wells, Charles Wilkin, Lionel Williams, Bill Zindel
]]>
Lola creates surreal distorted portraits, some made of shattered fragments, exploded features, and some loopy figures I would certainly call dali-esque. I think they're great, she's creating a new perspective with each collaged caricature.Lola Dupre
www.loladupre.com/
Glasgow, Scotland
Describe your work in 10 words or less.
Paper shards heaped onto wood panels.
What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A4 prints of magazine images, vintage photographs, and images obtained directly in collaboration with photographers.
How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
About 12 years, a love for the accessibility of it.
Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
Solely an artist and illustrator.
Do you have any formal art training?
Architecture.
Explain your favourite techniques.
The stretching and distortion of the unstretchable.
Describe your favourite piece ever created.
Almost always this is simply the last piece or pieces I made.
What other artists do you admire?
Many, my closest inspiration is the fellow collage artist I am currently working with, the amazing Yvonne Chiffon.
Thanks Lola!
]]>
]]>
Elo makes fun and playful digital collages, his work really caught my eye. What I like about it especially is that he's not afraid to combine multiple time periods in his pieces. I see a definite Victorian style as well as a retro 60s look in his work.
Elo Designer
www.elodesigns.com
I'm from San Diego, California
Describe your work in 10 words or less.
Art with an edge and no limits.
What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
I like to work with a little bit of everything. Old magazines, stock images, vignette images, and vintage vector drawings. I also make my own textures and brushes. I think that's why they called it collage right? because you can put all those pieces together when creating a composition.
How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
Well, when I came out of graphic school about 2 years ago, I thought graphic arts would be more of a creative world and not so repetitive. I thought I would be able to create and express my ideas freely. I was wrong and I knew I had to do something to express my artistic side to the world. Although I took lots of drawing classes, I still suck at it (laughs). But I have great illustration ideas. I think creating photo illustrations (collage) was an answer to my frustrations for not being able to create beautiful drawings or perfect sketches. Collage has been a great part of my life since I was a kid even before I went to design school.
Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
I am a graphic designer with a degree. I love to do packaging designs, work on concepts and new identities. I've got some awards on packaging and I think that is one of my main passions in design. I'm always more demanding than my clients, and I never put out a logo or a design until I'm 100% happy with it. Even when my clients say that they are happy with my designs, I still ask a little bit of more time to push it a little bit further.
Do you have any formal art training?
Yes I do. I have a graphic arts degree and a web design certificate.
Explain your favourite techniques.
My favorite techniques are no techniques. When you do collage you have put stuff together, understand balance, understand the golden ratio, how to match colors, understand "The Gestalt Principles." You have to know when it's time to add or subtract but that is all more technical. But they all help!
Describe your favourite piece ever created.
My art pieces are like my babies (laughs) I hate to see them go. But it's awarding when you see someone wearing what you have designed. I did an art exhibition and I saw people buying them. Only 4 were left but I still wanted to keep them all. I actually don't have a favorite one. I still have tons that I didn't like and thought wouldn't be worth showing. It's like when a singer creates a new album. You edit and put only the best to the public. I like all the ones out there!
What other artists do you admire?
In pop art I like Andy Warhol, in graphic arts I like Karin Hashid and Michael Graves. They are all genius!
Thanks Elo!
]]>
]]>
Justin's collages have a really great energy, featuring geometric shapes and strong--which overtake the subjects in quite a powerful way. He's not afraid to work in different mediums to get the message across, and each piece is so different but they all have that electric nature!
Justin Angelos
www.justinangelos.com
Grew up in San Diego now in Santa Cruz
Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A strange stew of mixed media, collage and assemblage.
What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
My palette consists of just about anything and everything--old mags, found wood and rusted metal, animal parts, family photos and the debris of my childhood.
How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
I've been creating collage/assemblage for as long as I can remember. As a kid I spent countless hours in the backroom of my mom's florist shop watching her assemble the most amazing arrangements from flowers, dead insects and taxidermy
Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
I am also a full time stay at home dad.
Do you have any formal art training?
2 years of advertising school and misc jr. college art classes.
Explain your favourite techniques.
It depends on the piece but there's something meditative and soothing about holding a pair of scissors in you hand and searching for the right image to extract and use to create something new.
Describe your favourite piece ever created.
WOW! I fall in love with almost everything I make.
What other artists do you admire?
Rauschenberg, Joesph Cornell, The Date Farmers, Robert Hardgrave, Aj Fosik, Kris Kuksi, Lola Dupre, Monica Canilao, Hobby Horse Collective, Abandonview just to name a few.
Thanks Justin!
]]>
]]>
Ryan's collages are so interesting, they exude simplicity and complexity at the same time. The cardboard gives a lovely, sculptural quality to what otherwise would be some very contemporary cut and paste! I'm also curious to know how she finds all that coloured cardboard.
Ryan Sarah Murphy
www.ryansarahmurphy.com
New York, NY
Describe your work in 10 words or less.
Restrained, urban/natural landscape, construction/destruction.
What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
I've been using found, colored cardboard collected from all sorts of boxes, packaging and containers. And glue.
How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
I have always been drawn to collage-based works on paper though initially my concentration was sculpture. These cardboard collages satisfy a need to construct objects, make lines and apply colors, so for me they often feel like a combination of sculpture, drawing and painting.
Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
I work as a studio assistant to a Brooklyn-based stone sculptor.
Do you have any formal art training?
I received my BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York.
Explain your favourite techniques.
I basically collect and hoard materials that catch my eye, cut out & tear colors, shapes and thicknesses, and assemble forms rather organically, growing and constructing them piece by piece.
Describe your favourite piece ever created.
My favorite piece always changes as it's usually the most current piece I've made. The latest collage I've completed is called "Dear, Dear Surface". It's one of the largest pieces I've made and has a sort of dual static/floating quality.
What other artists do you admire?
Maria Elena-Gonzalez, John Beech, Agnes Martin, Mona Hatoum, Rosie Lee Tompkins, Richard Diebenkorn, Mies van der Rohe.
Thanks Ryan!
]]>
]]>
Here's a little update on Andrei Cojocaru, who I featured the first time in November 2008 (almost three years ago!). His work has changed a lot since then, and I feel like it has gotten more sophisticated in a way. I really love seeing the change in artists over the years, I was pleased to hear from him.
Andrei Cojocaru
www.andreicojocaru.net
Still in Paris, France!
Q: Last time we spoke, you were in school studying law, has any of that changed?
Yes! Many things have changed since... I've received my (utterly useless) degree in International Law and have started working in advertising as an account executive; I work in a big agency, a small cog in a large wheel! It's a very stressful and time-consuming job but it's interesting and it gives me the opportunity to hang out and work with talented people.
Apart from that, I'm still trying to do as much collage work as I can, it's my therapy and my escape from all the stress around me.
Q: How has your work changed since our last interview?
I'm not sure how to explain it, I think my style and work method are in a continuous evolution. It all depends on my mood at the moment, I sometimes go for simple, clean compositions, with geometric elements, some other times I would go for busier, "dirtier" collages, more chaotic, with lots of different elements, torn papers as opposed to cleanly cut shapes, etc. The objective however remains the same: to have a result that's pleasing to the eye.
Because of work I often go for weeks without touching a single piece of paper or my trusty cutter but than of the blue I get into "collage frenzy" and come up with 12-15 pieces in one night. I'm usually pleased with 4 or 5 of them, the rest I keep in a corner for later, I might work on them again in a month or two.
Q: Did any other artists influence your recent changes?
Back in 2008 when you have first interviewed me I was discovering lots of great artists thanks to deviantart; soon after that I've switched to flickr where I keep discovering great artists every day! My recent influences and inspiration sources are Genadii Berёzkin, Marek Haiduk, Pierre Botardo, Ciro MacCord, Beth Hoeckel, Jeffrey Meyer (goofbutton) and last but certainly not least, all the members of the WAFA collective!
Q: Any recent accomplishments you are proud of?
Yes, there are a few! First of all I have recently launched a website, andreicojocaru.net, to showcase my work and "get my name out there" a bit more.
Also, I have done two great collaborations over the last months, the first one with Milcho Pipin, a photographer living in Brazil - I've used his photos to make digital collages, you can see the results on my site and on flickr. The second collab is with ▲°, a British artist. It's still work in progress but I really love how things are going forward, can't wait to share the results!
Q: Do you have any future projects in mind?
Once again, the answer is yes! I would like to get involved in new activities such as video editing or sound design/music making, because I believe the principles of collage can be applied there too: you can take bits from many different and unrelated sources, cut them up, rearrange them together and come with a totally new and surprising creation. I have the ideas in my head, I'm trying to save up to get the proper tools and of course I need to find the time necessary for these projects.
Until then (and also after!) I'll keep doing collages, as many and as often I can!
I really dig collaborations so anyone reading this who might be interested in working together, drop me a line! : )
Thanks again, Andrei!
]]>