THE COLLAGE & DIP/TRIPTYCH

Collage Art

The term "collage" comes from the french word coller, or "to glue".

An innovative approach to art that creates a unique and creative piece of artwork that is usually different each time.

Collages can be constructed from a variety of materials, often paper (photographs, painted forms) and sometimes 3D objects. More artists tended to explore this project into the 20th century and mediums became more experimental and varied.

Photographic Collages

Early on collaging was intersected with photography, bringing pictures from newspapers into compositions, usually with the human face as a focal subject.

"Photomontage"

These collages usually consisted of reassembled prints combined to construct an entirely new world. This particular method is great at creating compositions that aren't possible to achieve in real life, using scale, layering and combining different angles and objects for a more surrealist effect.

The Practice of Photographic Montage/Collages

Dissimilarly to the previously mentioned I will be focusing less on the aesthetic of combining elements of photos but the display of these images as whole, a set. Looking at why so many of us choose to display our images like this in our homes, what motivates us to choose these images, their positions and the overall tone created by this practice.

I know I'm not alone in this practice, of choosing photos of myself and my friends to put up in our living room, documenting all the time we've spent with each other. A lot of these images are taken digitally (on phones) but some with a disposable camera as well, capturing raw moments of fun and enjoyment that anyone who comes into our house can view.

I want my exhibition to feel intimate and personal and I think using this process of displaying my images will help to imitate this feeling and make the viewers feel part of the exhibition themselves, rather than just a spectator.

The Use of Diptych and Triptych

Originating from the Greek ptykhos meaning to bend, is an artwork made of 2 or 3 panels. Often art/images used together to elevate visual coherence and narrative rather than being standalone pieces.

They are brilliant tools for storytelling in photography, and can be used for images that are the polar opposite to each other or show a consistent theme.

Often dip and triptych's represent some kind of timescale, often with photos taken seconds/minutes apart. This is something I'd love to experiment with as a lot of my images, especially of my hometown are made up of photographs taken in the same place or in the same timescale. I think including more than one image in this scenario allows the audiences to view the world behind the photos more than they would do with standalone images, giving them a little more information about the place/person or event.