Questionable Femininity
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4.5 x 6.5 inches, collection of M Higgins
Archive for the ‘J A Dixon’ Category
Questionable Femininity
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013Compliments of the Haus
Saturday, May 4th, 2013“We don’t critique a gift. We don’t worry about its technical qualities or how its built. We don’t want metrics on our gifts. When we get a gift, it makes us feel something. Gifts tap into our sometimes irrational emotions and move us. We don’t question it. We simply give thanks.”
— Jarrett Fuller
Yesterday was my nephew’s birthday, so I produced the customary personal miniature as a greeting card cover image. Many of these creations are so idiosyncratic as to be virtually unexplainable (not that a collage needs any explanation in the first place, of course). Long have I found the personal miniature to be one of the most enticing of art forms. It begins with a pleasant agenda — engage the unique personality of the intended recipient — yet it offers profound opportunities for wild departures, because one already knows that the result will be met with joy and high regard by the primary observer. Much could be written about this subject and the history of artists as gift-givers. Any creative person will undoubtedly appreciate what I mean by this.
Here are a few more cards from my archives:
A Furious Struggle
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of B C Adkins
Gravitational Familiarity
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of S Lister
Solar Deliberation
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of J M Menke
Organic Potential
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of C Dixon
Compliments of the Haus
collage miniature by J A Dixon
collection of H Coomer
Cosmic Crust
Monday, April 29th, 2013Today is my birthday, and I was the fortunate recipient of the best pie ever — red raspberry and tart cherry with whole grain crust. Therefore, I shall celebrate by exhibiting a collage miniature with pie!
Cosmic Crust
collage miniature by J A Dixon
7.5 x 7.5 inches, collection of Dana Dixon
Out Of Favorites
Monday, April 22nd, 2013
Out Of Favorites
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4.5 x 6.5 inches
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A day of honor . . .
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013“Never lose sight of love and kindness for family, clan, and friends. Family comes first and many times we make it, or seem to make it, last.”
— John Edward Dixon
This would be my father’s 90th birthday, had he not been lost to us nearly 20 years ago. For the rest of my life I shall create pictures of him. Of course, I can’t know what he’d think of that, but I suspect his feelings would be mixed. Modest enough to be uncomfortable with the practice, he probably would have approved, on the other hand, of my using his image as a mechanism for continuous artistic investigation. It’s natural for me to think about him on his birthday and how enhanced my life would be if I still had access to his wisdom, evolving perspective, and keen sense of leadership. Whether we comprehend it or not, each of us has a meaningful influence by our very presence in the drama of existence, affecting our world and others in countless ways. Perhaps our departures from the stage will be less profound than his, depending on how each of us has played our part. When one is as beloved as my namesake, the absence is a deeply felt void which sends wide ripples across the surface of family life. And so, it is a day for me to pay tribute, in the springtime he cherished, and to declare that I shall love him forever.
Variations on a Theme by Grandybo, Part Eight
mixed-media collage by J A Dixon, 2006
collection of A Kenner
Microcosmic Memories
Thursday, April 11th, 2013Happy Happy to “my partner in all things.”
I love you forever . . .
Microcosmic Memories
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6.5 x 8 inches
collection of Dana Dixon
Odes to influence, invention, inspiration . . .
Sunday, April 7th, 2013“I’ve never met a tradition that is not the result of successful invention. As soon as you invent something that everybody wants, unless you evolve that tradition, it starts to get smaller. I think of the Silk Road, in many ways, as the Internet of antiquity. Today it’s much faster but we had essentially the same results. When people met at the borders, you traded; you figured out who you are; do I trust you? Can we do business together? Can we be friends?”
— Yo-Yo Ma
A week after finishing my 31-miniatures-in-31-days exercise, which culminated in a “Silk Road” collage series, I am able to look at the month’s output with a bit of perspective. A period of sustained experimentation collided with a catalytic event (attending a performance of the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma), and suddenly I was off on a ride of intense thematic exploration. I am now able to link the end result to a piece I created seven years ago as a tribute to Kurt Schwitters. I felt strongly at the time that by transcending the individual characteristics of ingredient elements, the totality of a compositional effect could take on a reverential tone. I have nothing against irreverence, satire, or sarcasm in art, but I am increasingly comfortable with the idea that when I step beyond an inspirational experience, my natural tendency is to seek beauty, harmony, and perhaps even “the sacred” in a work of collage.
Sacred Ode To Merz
J A Dixon, 2006
homage to K Schwitters
16 x 20 inches (framed)
private collection
March Exercise | Miniature Thirty-One
Sunday, March 31st, 2013
Silk Road Triumphant
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6.5 x 8 inches
• S O L D
March Exercise | Miniature Thirty
Saturday, March 30th, 2013
Silk Road Interpretations
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6.5 x 8 inches
on consignment
March Exercise | Miniature Twenty-Nine
Friday, March 29th, 2013
Silk Road Impulses
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6 x 6.25 inches
Purchase this artwork!
March Exercise | Miniature Twenty-Eight
Thursday, March 28th, 2013
Silk Road Translations
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6 x 7.75 inches
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