Dada, Collage and Cardboard Art

Lindsey Berger
02.25.08
Dada, Collage and Cardboard Art
Cardboard art is something that I really never thought of making before. I’ve had a box of cardboard for years and often wondered what I could make of it. Usually I would just paint on it and that would be it. I guess my ‘brilliant’ idea of how to use it came to me because I didn’t have any other materials to use. I began to tear it apart and glue it together randomly to create a new starting surface. So I researched artist who use cardboard but I also researched collage artists because I have always had an interest in collage. I also researched the Dada movement, Fauvism and many artists from these era‘s. So my series will be a mixture of cardboard, collage, and also some drawings, with a plethora of color and darkness, with deep meaning.
I found many images online of artists who have made a piece entirely out of cardboard. Most of them are sculptures or flat images using the corrugated part of the board to create and image. One artist I found is Chris Gilmour who creates replications of everyday life size objects, completely out of cardboard. It is amazing to look at all he has accomplished with cardboard, I can’t image the time he puts into each of his creations. He has made replications of automobiles, bicycles, typewriters, motorcycles etc. Although I don’t plan on using carboard in the same way it is incredibly interesting to see what other people make with it. Actually it is hard to find many artists who don’t use cardboard in the sculpture form. Other art I found that wasn’t 3-D was mostly portraits, the artists would use the corrugated part of the board as one layer and leave the rest make a silhouette of someone’s face. I couldn’t really find any artists who used the cardboard the way I am. Also, many of the cardboard art I found stayed the original brownish color.
The Dada movement began during WW1 and was a cultural movement where people expressed themselves in many art forms, including poetry, literature, art and theatre. Most artists during this era focused on anti-war pieces that rejected contemporary standards. This movement was also believed to be a protest against war and believed that bourgeois nationalist and colonialist interests were the cause of the war. Basically Dadaist’s believed that governments were causing the destruction of the world and they rebelled against it through artistic expression. Dada art was intended to offend the viewer with its anti-cultural ideals, artists believe their art would destroy traditional culture. Although there are many art forms that dada artists used, I am most interested in collage. Many dada artists used the method of cutting out pictures or words and assembling them through collage. At first glimpse you don’t realize how many different images there are, and as you look around you see something you may not have seen before. This is one aspect I hope to accomplish through my artwork.
One of my favorite Dada artists is Hannah Hoch, who is a German woman that studied that the College of Arts and Crafts in Berlin. Hoch was a passionate feminist, and was often looked down upon by the men in her life. She often reflected the idea that women are not looked at as ‘whole people’ and were expected to get married and have children. Many of her pieces were collaged picture of men and women combined, because she enjoyed women that showed masculinity. I really appreciate all of the emotion and meaning she has within her work, it definitely speaks about the time period she grew up in and how women were treated. She also used many newspaper clippings in her art to reveal what was happening in society.
Another artist I have been researching is the French artist Henry Matisse. He was a leading figure in modern art and is often considered a rival of Picasso. He was a participant in the Fauvism movement and became a member of the Fauves in 1905. This movement is described at the childlike play with bold colors. I absolutely love his use of color in all of his pieces, its so pleasing and comforting to look at. The contrast of light to dark is something that I also want to convey in my own art. Matisse has many still life pieces where he plays with bright and vibrant colors, which I think adds something so much more to the average still life. They way he uses color seems to liven up any ordinary still life. In 1947 he published Jazz, which was a limited edition book with cut out collages and written thoughts and ideas. He made this book when he was older and in poor health, he could no longer paint the way he used to, so he began cutting instead. I thought this was really inspiring because he kept making art and he adjusted his art to what he could psychically accomplish. Jazz ended up being one of the most successful books printed by a 20th century artist.
In conclusion, I want my series to reflect a number of different aspects. I know I want to use cardboard in everything, but also incorporate collage and many other found materials. I like using recycled materials and plan on using whatever I can find. I want my art to reflect myself as a person and the things I deal with in my own life. I want some pieces to be dark and gloomy, but I also want to make bright, colorful pieces also. I plan on having a section designated to the drawings I have been working on. It will probably be difficult to fit my drawings in, but I have a few ideas on how to solve this problem. I am really excited about creating my art, It feels good to know what I want to express.