Archive for the ‘Exchange’ Category

The Oxidation of Reduced Elasticity

Saturday, April 18th, 2020

“While I use titles that reveal information about the work, I also seek words and phrases that can veil or obscure. I seek titles that support work, but I also seek words and terms that challenge or engage the viewer. I tend to be most satisfied when a title has a bit of mystique or tension. Interestingly, I find that as a work is coming to conclusion, and I know it is almost finished, title ideas tend to flow forth. I write down these ideas and impressions, and then go rather methodically through a decision making process until I am satisfied with a solution.”
— Jane Nodine
 

The miniature featured here was selected for the permanent collection, chosen from the seven pieces that I sent to Santa Fe for exchange. If you’re scratching your head about the titles within my overall series, I don’t blame you. The odd word combinations evolved from baking terminology (the exchange theme), fused with aspects of the prevailing public health crisis, and, to a lesser degree, visual associations with the artwork itself. I rarely find naming to be an effortless process. Every once in a while, it’s just as smoothly intuitive as creating a collage.

Something that comes more easily for me than titling is color harmony, particularly after a scheme has emerged early in the collage process. And then I find myself rejecting certain ingredients for no other reason than a balance of hues. There are always exceptions, of course. Some compositions tend to demand a “maximalist” approach that accommodates a fuller spectral array. The more complicated a composition, the greater challenge it presents in my choosing a satisfactory name for it. If the process becomes a bit too rational, the task is set aside. When I come back to it, the working title is often scrapped and something more spontaneous is the permanent choice.
 

The Oxidation of Reduced Elasticity
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— acquired for the IMCAC permanent collection

The Congestion of Microcosmic Zest

Thursday, April 16th, 2020

 

The Congestion of Microcosmic Zest
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— distributed in the exchange

The Absorption of Refracted Joss

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

 

The Absorption of Refracted Joss
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— distributed in the exchange

The Stockpiling of Expectant Mirth

Sunday, April 12th, 2020

 

The Stockpiling of Expectant Mirth
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— distributed in the exchange

The Overexposure of Stiff Peaks

Friday, April 10th, 2020

 

The Overexposure of Stiff Peaks
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— distributed in the exchange

The Exclusion of Caramelized Preferment

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

 

The Exclusion of Caramelized Preferment
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— distributed in the exchange

The Aroma of Fermented Proximity

Monday, April 6th, 2020

 

The Aroma of Fermented Proximity
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— distributed in the exchange

The Wisdom of Retrograde Shortening

Saturday, April 4th, 2020

“Our intuition is always operating for us. Usually, however, we don’t act on it. When I made the conscious decision to start acting on thoughts that were coming through my head, amazing ‘coincidences’ began to occur.”
— Susan Jeffers
 

Each composition in this series started with a central rectangular zone and some of the elements extend out into the black field when it helped to create a dynamic balance. My tendency is to not overthink an underlying design, and I prefer to keep the process as spontaneous as possible. The same is true of the ingredient subject matter. Any potential symbolic meanings become more apparent after I stop.

Many of you who read this know what it’s like to have something just “belong,” and when it “feels right” to occupy a particular space. All of this happens without having to get too intellectual about it, and then the resulting coincidental associations emerge into perception. Antero Alli thinks that what has been described as “synchronicity” will eventually be called a skill.

 

The Wisdom of Retrograde Shortening
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— retained by the artist

The Anatomy of Unleavened Extensibility

Thursday, April 2nd, 2020

 

The Anatomy of Unleavened Extensibility
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— retained by the artist

The Window of Flocked Alliteration

Tuesday, March 31st, 2020

 

The Window of Flocked Alliteration
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— retained by the artist

The Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange

Sunday, March 29th, 2020

“Works will be sorted and exchanged as equally as possible according to quality. The intention of all of the Museum’s exchanges is to establish a dialog and exchange of ideas about how to work in the mediums of collage and montage among colleagues. By exchanging actual examples we get to see first hand how each other works. This is intended to lead to higher standards and more inspired and satisfying work.”
— Cecil Touchon
 

Not having participated in an international collage exchange since 2016, I set my sights on the spring installment of a tradition established at the International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction.

The basic reference point for the exchange is the customary 12 donuts plus free sample. “Except, to make it easier, we have changed it to a Baker’s 1/2 Dozen Exchange,” according to Cecil Touchon, the Museum’s director. Six to trade with contributing artists and one to be retained as part of the Museum’s permanent collection for future study and exhibit.

I created a series of eleven miniatures within a common black-background theme and kept three for myself. From the remaining eight, I identified one as a specific donation to IMCAC (featured below), with the understanding that Touchon would select another for retention and supply the others to designated participants. I couldn’t help but insert a visual homage to the typographic artist himself. Now all I have to do is wait patiently before I get back six original artworks by collage contemporaries.

The original notion of a collage museum compiled by generations of artists themselves (rather than patrons, collectors, or philanthropists) is a powerful idea to me. I can never tip my hat to Cecil often enough. Archiving the large and growing repository is both a labor of love and a significant gesture of commitment to the medium. Working collage artists should be honored to support the cause and make their best effort to be included in the Museum’s flagship collection intended for traveling exhibitions. A good way to do it is to dedicate some creative time to their periodic exchange. And each of us receives valuable artwork in return.
 

The Fog of Glazed Eggwash
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
 
part of a series created for the
Baker’s 1/2-Dozen Collage Exchange
— donated to the IMCAC permanent collection