Magazine pictures, paper, and glue.
Carefully they view the evidence. It is only in this moment that any of this comes together. The placement is precise, the conclusions uncertain.
"Do you see what I see?"
"I do not know what you see."
"You are looking right at it."
'I see my view, you see yours."
"What is she doing?"
"Examining the evidence. She's using the scientific method."
"How do you know?"
"I read her log."
- dbS -
What The Cats Discovered - digital collage by douglas brent smith, 2 March 2024
With glue and paper, once you've set the glue you either live with it, tear it off, or paste something over it. That makes the work exacting and a bit risky.
With a digital collage, such as this one, you can change your mind and simply iterate. That's fun, too. There could be an endless series of versions of the same picture that is not the same picture.
I don't necessarily want that, but I wasn't sure I was satisfied with the first version (above) so here are some alternatives. The What the Cats Discovered Remix, or More of What The Cats Discovered:
More of What The Cats Discovered (Outside Remix) - douglas brent smith 2 March 2024
ore of What The Cats Discovered, Inside Remix, douglas brent smith 2 March 2024
What one do you like the best?
I promise that I will NOT do this with every collage. Tonight, it was fun.
Worldview Built In A Day With Fire - collage by douglas brent smith, 3 January 1988
Something about this collage causes me to page quickly past it, yet if I spend more time absorbed in it there is more to see. I pondered cropping it. I cut out dozens of pieces of pictures that could go in with it, but found it hard to obscure the central image. Worldview? Examination? Built in a day?
The hints of mixed media with the pen lines were attempts to draw it all together. Did it work?
"Time For Another Episode...Dream Collage 87" collage by douglas brent smith, 26 December 1987
It feels like winter has always been my most productive collage season. It started in college when I'd use much of my semester break drinking Dr. Pepper, eating hot dogs and baked beans, and making collages. The Dr. Pepper was yummy but destroyed one of my teeth and nearly destroyed them all. Switching to black coffee (oh, and brushing my teeth!) came to the rescue.
I'm not sure why this collage has such a long title. I don't think there are 86 other "dream collages" sequenced in the catalogue. Clearly, it refers to the year in some amusing way.
Here we see the casual disregard of an ominously dangerous insect-like critter -- headed for havoc. So often though, we can be oddly calm just before all trouble breaks loose.
The gentleman in the lower left corner has an answer for you on the line, if you're willing to reverse the charges.
- dbS -
Do you think that artists have their own personal favorites among the works that they create? While they are all our "babies" (not really, but there's the expression...) and we are usually pleased with the finished product, some sit better than others.
I like this collage. I've used it in many contexts as a featured illustration because it makes me smile. Growing up, I remember when TV stations would leave the air at night and the last thing on the screen would be a test pattern. Sometimes it had (for some reason) a picture of a Native American in the pattern, and sometimes it didn't. This was, of course, before color TV.
I call this "The Eyes Have It". There may be other versions of it (maybe with more eyes) and there may not be. Things get lost, things get (gasp!) destroyed.
I hope you like it. I sure do.
The Eyes Have It - collage by douglas brent smith, paper, magazine images, Elmer's Glue, 22 February 1988.
A Full Moon Wasn't The Half of It -- collage by douglas brent smith, 1986
Getting Started Is The Rough Part - collage by douglas brent smith 26 December 1987
