Art History; A Collage of the medium

Collage is often thought of as an archetypal modern artistic technique. The term collage – from the French verb, meaning “to stick” – derives from the French term papiers collés (or découpage), used to describe techniques of pasting paper cut-outs onto various surfaces. It was first used as an artists' technique in the early twentieth century and used to describe the Cubist innovations of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who began to stick newspaper cuttings and other materials onto their canvases in 1912. As collage within art was first coined by Cubist artists Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, they were considered the first pioneers of this movement and existed as the first two artists who worked with different mediums in an attempt to make art, Braque and Picasso began their cutting-edge assemblages around 1910.

However, the techniques of collage were first used at the time of the invention of paper in China, around 200 BC. The use of collage, however, wasn't used by many people until the 10th century in Japan, when calligraphers began to apply glued paper, using texts on surfaces, when writing their poems. The overall purpose of using collages in the design process is to bring together visual elements to explore their commonalities.

Most artists use collage as it adds to the dimension of the pieces and can further illustrate a point, often seen in contemporary art. Many artists find that magazine and newspaper clippings, photographs, printed words, and even rusty metal or dirtied cloth are wonderful vehicles for conveying a message. Common types of collage include; Blended Collage, Grid/Table Collage, Bordered Collage, Photo Mosaic, Photo Effects Collage, and Trendy Shape Collage. 

I have used collage in my art, in multiple forms, from using fabrics and paper as well to merging works. I have included some of my artworks below; ‘Fragmented Tree’ (2022) a paper collage; artwork on the statement of deforestation and the fractures left behind. ‘Shell’ (2012) a paper collage; artwork about the epidemic of littering on beaches and to highlight the environmental damage.