{"id":6073,"date":"2016-01-31T17:13:08","date_gmt":"2016-01-31T21:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/?p=6073"},"modified":"2024-12-03T11:12:36","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T15:12:36","slug":"collage-and-the-meaning-of-existence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/archives\/6073","title":{"rendered":"Collage and the Meaning of Existence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sorry about that title. I am having a bit of fun with the search engines.<\/p>\n<p>On a serious note, today\u2019s entry is about how collage can be put to the service of more than irony, shock, whimsy, irreverence, or cynicism. Let me say first, if you please, that all those things can be valid, even pleasurable, effects. They are rooted deeply in the history of the medium. One could make the case that a collage artwork is never more than a step or two removed from the essence of dada, surrealism, or popism. On the other hand, for me, there are times when that creative genealogy is best put aside, in favor of a different tone. <\/p>\n<p>Developing works with special meaning to those for which they were intended has always been some of the most fulfilling time I have spent as an artist. Collage has the potential to capture profound significance for a recipient, especially when it is personalized with meaningful artifacts and memorabilia. Also, there is an opportunity for the artist to thoughtfully select and integrate additional ingredient elements for greater depth and layered associations.<\/p>\n<p>The project featured below began with a discussion about how all of us accumulate \u201cstuff\u201d that will never rise to the level of a family heirloom, but cannot be comfortably discarded because it has true meaning in the context of one\u2019s journey in life. The patron took to heart my offer to embed many of these things in an artistic expression that would likely become a treasure for descendants instead of a burden of disposition. With the capacity to transcend the \u201cscrapbook,\u201d fine art collage is ideally suited for such an endeavor.<\/p>\n<p>It was the client\u2019s idea to approach the commission as a triptych, or three separate panels, that would convey the themes of body, mind, and spirit. I wanted the components to work as a total piece, but also for each to have a stand-alone quality. Whether they stay together or part company will be left to future circumstances and decisions. The resulting \u201clegacy collage\u201d is a distinctive creation that preserves images representing the life and guiding principles of a unique individual. It has been my honor to provide that creative service to her.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Body.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-6082\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Body.jpg\" alt=\"Body (for MJCB) ~ J A Dixon\" title=\"Body (for MJCB) ~ J A Dixon\" width=\"135\" height=\"203\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6082\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Body.jpg 666w, https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Body-300x450.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 135px) 100vw, 135px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Mind.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-6081\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Mind.jpg\" alt=\"Mind (for MJCB) ~ J A Dixon\" title=\"Mind (for MJCB) ~ J A Dixon\" width=\"135\" height=\"203\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6081\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Mind.jpg 666w, https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Mind-300x450.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 135px) 100vw, 135px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Spirit.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-6080\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Spirit.jpg\" alt=\"Spirit (for MJCB) ~ J A Dixon\" title=\"Spirit (for MJCB) ~ J A Dixon\" width=\"135\" height=\"203\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-6080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Spirit.jpg 666w, https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Dixon_Spirit-300x450.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 135px) 100vw, 135px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 88%; line-height: 133%; margin-top: 238px; margin-bottom: 44px; color: gray; padding-left: 30px;\" align=\"left\"><em><strong>Body<\/strong> &nbsp;~&nbsp; <strong>Mind<\/strong> &nbsp;~&nbsp; <strong>Spirit<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\nJohn Andrew Dixon<br \/>\nthree legacy collage artworks on structured panels<br \/>\n16 x 24 inches each<br \/>\nprivate collection<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sorry about that title. I am having a bit of fun with the search engines. On a serious note, today\u2019s entry is about how collage can be put to the service of more than irony, shock, whimsy, irreverence, or cynicism. Let me say first, if you please, that all those things can be valid, even [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,1,149,24,22,18,671,35,28,26],"tags":[90,175,177,180,178,176,179,174],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6073"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6073"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6107,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6073\/revisions\/6107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xorph.com\/jadixon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}