collage

Collage (/kəˈlɑːʒ/, from the French: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.


Techniques of collage were first used at the time of the invention of paper in China, around 200 BC. The use of collage, however, did not arise until the 10th century in Japan, when calligraphers began to apply glued paper, using texts on surfaces, when writing their poems.

Kurt Schwitters

You can't talk about collage artists without mentioning Kurt Schwitters as he is considered to be 'The King of Collage'. Schwitters is credited with being the first to do it. However, others argue that Picasso did it first! Schwitters collected his materials from the streets of Berlin.


Let's explore four main types:


Romare Bearden

Romare Bearden was an American artist, author, and songwriter. He worked with many types of media including cartoons, oils, and collages. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from New York University in 1935.

Bearden's collage work began in 1963 or 1964.[9] He first combined images cut from magazines and colored paper, which he would often further alter with the use of sandpaper, bleach, graphite or paint.[9] Bearden enlarged these collages through the photostat process.

themes for collage:

All about me: things I like

A feeling or emotion

Must haves 

Can haves