Collage Art

One of my few strengths, especially in the technical and visual realms, is my resourcefulness. Before you burst into hysterics, honestly: I'm pretty good at dragging at least something out of nothing! Hence why I've dabbled in so many mediums, to however varied a degree of "success".

Take the band posters immediately below. In lieu of any ability with computers in the mid-2000s, I cobbled these together with a mix of good ol'-fashioned paper, scissors, double-sided tape and photocopying: not bad, eh? Heck, I liked 'em, and still do. (And so, apparently, did the young couple who "collected" my Hell in a Handbasket posters from lamp posts and public walls. They even introduced themselves to me at one of the gigs, and cited that as their sole reason for showing up in the first place! I, er...don't believe I ever saw them at a gig ever again. Was it something I sang?!)

Oh, and those other collages - the slightly more "abstract" ones, below the band ones - are the closest I've come to gallery-level "Art" (with a capital friggin' "A")! I'll be the first to admit that most of my work operates on a more literal and/or story-based level, so here's a taste of what the world could'a ended up with if I'd pursued my more subconscious muse. (I thank Jello Biafra - of Dead Kennedys fame - and his frequent collaborator John Yates for their profound and rather obvious influence upon these pieces! I'd also say my teenage obsession with Weekly World News - the covers of which were plastered all over my walls - may have played some part, especially regarding my preferred black-and-white aesthetic.)

They're also a tad more "political" than I tend to get in most of my work - albeit in a hopefully "balanced"/semi-objective kinda way - so again, more of a reflection of my artistic past then any probable artistic future. I still have a certain fondness for these pieces any-which-way, so I think I'll share 'em just the same!

(Collage artwork by Michael Bowser.)