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Assemblage
Art
By Kelly Kilmer
May 2000
YOU ARE ONLY
LIMITED BY YOUR IMAGINATION
What is assemblage? Assembling together a variety of materials to create a piece
of art.
What is Found Art? Found art is the discards of society. Things that other
people don't care about that an artist will pick up and treasure, covet, stash
and use. Artists are scavengers. Pack rats. Collectors. We seek out the
beauty in everything. Found art can be a discarded ticket picked up off of the
street. It can be a small brass doorknocker for 50¢ at the flea market. Found
art can be an old bauble your Aunt gives you that she no longer wants.
Visit the flea market, junk stores, thrift
stores, Salvation Army. Go through your bureaus, dressers, garages, and
drawers. When you're walking down the street and you see a colorful
piece of paper that just jumps up right into your hand you know, you just
KNOW, that someday, sometime you'll have use for it.
Found art is whatever you think it is. It all depends on how YOU use it in
a way that is most fitting to YOU. Once you start your 'found art'
explorations your collection will flourish as will your art.
Materials:
-
The Muse/Creativity
- A Box (be it
wooden/glass/plastic/cardboard/metal or otherwise . . . cigar box, discarded
shoebox, fruit crate, Planter's Box, etc.)
-
Acrylic Paints
- Papers
- Glue-Decoupage (for adhering the papers to the
box would strongly suggest Mod Podge) for 3-D items use Aleene's Thick & Tacky
or caulking glue
- "FoUnD aRt"
- Sand paper
- Stamps, inks, alphabet sets, etc...
How to start:
1. Examine your box. What is the size? The Shape? What does it "
say" to you? What colors pop out that you want to use? Gather
your materials together. keeping in mind that you are never bound to use
any or all of them. This is art and an artist is entitled to change
his/her mind. Think of a theme. or what you want to say. It doesn't
have to have meaning to anyone else. Think of what your focal point
will be.
2. Paint, dye, stamp, decoupage, etc. the inside/outside of the box to
your liking. I like to sponge the paint on and then sand it to give it a
worn look. Do what YOU
like.
3. Assemble your art. Move things around before permanently placing
anything down. Hang things from the top of the box. Glue
things in/around/outside, etc. of the box. There are no limits.
4. Display proudly.
5. Scour the thrift stores, etc. for 'found art' and start working on
another assemblage!!!
WARNING: this is a VERY addicting and HIGHLY creative art form!
Please do yourself a favor and check
out the works of these highly scrumptious assemblage artists:
| Dale Copeland |
Joseph Cornell |
Kurt Schwitters |
| Lynne Perrella |
Janet Hofacker |
Marcel Duchamp |
| Teesha Moore |
|
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And remember, assemblages do not have to be
in boxes. Think outside of the box!
At the very least, visit the library or local bookstore and hit the art
section. Check out ANYTHING on Cornell, Duchamp, Schwitters, etc. |
"Objets de
Found Art"
Fabric
Watches
Playing cards
Rope
Washers
Foreign money
Rocks
Shells
Leaves
Twigs
Feathers
Labels
Pins
Buttons
Discarded shoes
Old love letters (photocopies!!)
Statues/figurines
Calendars
Wood
Candles
Letters/numbers
Fake bugs
Discarded typewriter keys
Bottle caps
Metal scraps
Photo corners
Matchboxes
Wood/plastic/ceramic,
etc. objects
Marbles
Frames
Letterpress blocks
Dried roses/flowers
Bowling pins
Machinery items
Old doll parts
Jewelry
Old toys
Computer pieces
Game pieces
Keys
Watch parts
Dominoes
Coins
Papers of all kinds
Tickets
Scrabble pieces
Old photos (photocopies, please!)
Spoons
Forks
Postage
Magazine pages
House Numbers
Spools
Tiles
Dice
Tape measures
Wine Glasses
Eye glasses
Brown paper bags
Christmas ornaments
Old clothes
Printers' letters |
