J Earl
asked
Astrea Taylor:
In House of Transformation your use of collage as their art form seems to me to speak to many elements of the story, from creating one's life from various pieces to the ever-changing group dynamic where the "pieces" are essentially put together by Ananda. Would you give some insight to how and why you chose collage/photo-montage as their art form?
Astrea Taylor
Hello Earl. I hope you're well. Thanks for your insightful question. :)
Collages are an intriguing art form, aren't they? They combine the most beautiful, vibrant images to tell an epic story, or reframe images into different settings, making them deeper than the sum of their parts. Collages are a microcosm of emotion, and create powerful feelings of awe. Ananda is particularly good at creating them; of creating anything out of thin air, really.
Collages are also fragile. Unless they're well-preserved, the glue dries and the tape loses its gum. The assemblage falls apart, piece by piece.
To answer your question, one of the themes in both timelines is escapism, although the characters' avoidance of reality is not without soul-searching and depth. Breakthroughs happen. Unfortunately, breakdowns also happen, because escapism can rarely be supported for long periods of time before the real world crashes in.
In this way, collages seemed a suitable art form -- for their ease of creation, profound insight, and vulnerable nature. Ultimately, I believe the collages were initially an inspiration for the characters to discover themselves. Later, the collages allowed them to re-find themselves and seek more lasting art forms with which to express themselves -- ones that do not fall apart so easily.
I appreciate your additional intuition about Ananda's friends being like collage pieces she assembles.
Thank you again for your brilliant question. Please don't hesitate if you have any other questions / comments. <3
Collages are an intriguing art form, aren't they? They combine the most beautiful, vibrant images to tell an epic story, or reframe images into different settings, making them deeper than the sum of their parts. Collages are a microcosm of emotion, and create powerful feelings of awe. Ananda is particularly good at creating them; of creating anything out of thin air, really.
Collages are also fragile. Unless they're well-preserved, the glue dries and the tape loses its gum. The assemblage falls apart, piece by piece.
To answer your question, one of the themes in both timelines is escapism, although the characters' avoidance of reality is not without soul-searching and depth. Breakthroughs happen. Unfortunately, breakdowns also happen, because escapism can rarely be supported for long periods of time before the real world crashes in.
In this way, collages seemed a suitable art form -- for their ease of creation, profound insight, and vulnerable nature. Ultimately, I believe the collages were initially an inspiration for the characters to discover themselves. Later, the collages allowed them to re-find themselves and seek more lasting art forms with which to express themselves -- ones that do not fall apart so easily.
I appreciate your additional intuition about Ananda's friends being like collage pieces she assembles.
Thank you again for your brilliant question. Please don't hesitate if you have any other questions / comments. <3
More Answered Questions
J Earl
asked
Astrea Taylor:
A MOOC I took from MOMA sent an invite for a stream Thursday, 2/9 at noon Eastern time on The Bauhaus Photocollages of Josef Albers. I thought of your wonderful book and thought I would share it with you. The talk is at the 92nd St Y but the email said it will stream on MOMA's Facebook page and will be available from MOMA's YouTube page after event? http://www.92y.org/Event/MoMA-s-Bauhaus-Photocollages-of-Josef-Albers
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