“I’m not a
teacher, but an awakener.”- Robert Frost
Recently,
collage work has occupied much of my studio time. I’ve been preparing pieces
for an upcoming art show and fund-raising event. It’s become apparent that my
visit to the Low Countries has taken center stage. Photographs and memorabilia from my trip
abroad have merged with an assortment of vintage papers and miscellany.
When I
approached the completion of this collage, I started searching for a particular
tone to better balance a section of the piece. After experimenting with a number
of items, none of which seemed quite right, I started sorting through some
French vocabulary cards. I selected one after consideration of its definition
and hue. This choice led, in turn, to the addition of a French/Dutch book page
I acquired in Amsterdam.
Shortly after
beginning this piece, I started reading Russell Shorto’s Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City. A friend had
suggested it after hearing of my fascination with the city. (Actually, she
mentioned it before my visit, but trip preparations took precedence.)
Interestingly, the evening after the aforementioned text pieces were set into
place, I came across Shorto’s description of Willem of Orange’s 16th
century call to “awake”- a verbal urging focused on ending Spain's persecution of the Low Countries. Evidently, Willem, like so many other liberators, was an
“awakener”.
The
multi-faceted relationships between a collage’s layers are seldom clear to me
at their inception or even their conclusion. As such, I must be patient and listen,
so I may be awake to whatever unfolds before me.
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