Collage::Books

Consider this: The book, not the gallery, is the best place to experience collage. This sentiment has broad implications for how collage artists work and how their work is received by an art world whose orientation is decidedly fixed on the gallery wall. Can the book provide for the functions that the exhibition has provided to artists for so long? Will the public accept a book as an experience of artwork or even as an object of art in and of itself? Unlike an exhibition where only original work is on display, a book depends on reproduction for its distribution. And if we now accept the book as on par with the exhibition, how does that affect how we think of the history of art publishing that has come before? These are the questions we seek to answer.

For collage artists, this is a subject of unique importance. In a time of exhibition as spectacle, the small, intimate work of the collage artist struggles to compete in a world of theme-park sized gestures. That’s not to say the medium can’t do this—there are many examples of artists who use a variety of strategies to achieve scale, to fill the gallery wall—rather it is to acknowledge that the approach of many collage artists involves a set of practices that make this difficult or undesirable such as using original, found material. Part of the allure of collage is its use of material generated by popular culture. This material provides an easy door for the viewer to enter the work. Because this material is coming from books and magazines, it is small and the work made with this material is small, too.

The event is centred on the Symposium, which takes place on Friday, 3 October, Noon-4:30PM at the Casa d'Italia in Montreal's Little Italy neighbourhood, near the Jean-Talon Metro station. Other events include a meet-and-greet/collage meet-up on Thursday evening, visits to collections that have collage books, and the Volume Art Book Fair on Saturday and Sunday.

For full details and the schedule of events, please visit the Event Website .

Host or Publisher Kolaj Institute