Master’s Copy Collage/Photomontage

Master’s Copy Collage

• Good collages/photomontages are about well cut, well trimmed, and well glued images

• Your artwork should replicate the original masterpiece you are copying, as closely as you can

• Like a tableaux vivant, you are going for the essence, the most important elements

Building Your Collage• You will need to gather up images in order to

construct a new image– Images can be built from either whole photos

or areas of color– You may use images from magazines,

newspapers, prints from the internet, or even old artwork you have done

– Only 10% of your collage may come from reproductions of the original image

– 12” x 14” or 168 square inches is min. size

By TJ McPherson

Bring in your own magazines!

• Needs to be a school appropriate magazine

• Needs to be school appropriate images• Don’t bring anything you aren’t willing to

cut• Xeroxes of images work well too!• Only 10% of your collage may come from

reproductions of the original image

Grading:

• This is your semester test. There will also be several progress grades. You will be evaluated on the following:

• Degree to which it resembles the original• Well glued• Well trimmed• Degree of completion• Written component

Day 2

Sketching your image out

Planning Sketch

• Having a sketch already laid out can really help you to plan colors, place elements, and consider what you still need to find

• There are two approaches:– Freehand sketch– Using a diagonal grid

Applying the Grid:• Trim image to exactly what you want: no more,

no less• Draw a diagonal across your source photo from

one corner to the opposite• Place the photo on top of the new, larger paper.

Match corner to corner• Extend the diagonal from the photo across the

new paper, until it leaves the edge of the paper (does not need to go from corner to corner)

Photo Paper

Paper

Photo

Paper

Photo

Scale and size

• 12” x 14” or 168 square inches is the minimum size

• Using a diagonal grid can help you to keep the artwork’s original ratio intact

• It is ok to approximate the ratio if you are working freehand; approximate is a good word for the entire assignment

• Work can be larger, just not smaller

Day 3

Cutting, Glue, and Taping

• Rubber cement is the glue of choice– Make sure to keep the

lid on when not in use– Easy to clean up– Easy to move around

or fix– Lays flat

• X-acto Knife and cutting board– For close trimming

images– For removing

background found in the negative spaces of a figure or an object

– Can be used create the impression of object appearing from behind, by cutting a slot

Day 4

Blending Colors and Craftsmanship

Blending Colors and Overlapping

Craftsmanship:

• Build from the background, forward• Masking tape can be used to join two

pieces which are not ready for gluing yet• Good collages are about well cut and well

glued images• No pieces as large as a 1/3 of a magazine

page• None of the yellow backing paper should

be visible in the final product

The Final:

Written Component

Written Component• On the day of your final there will be a written

component – artistic style– biographical information about the artist– the narrative and iconography– formal elements– artworks that influenced it– artworks it influenced– any evidence of appropriation