Collage may not be enough to end capitalism,
but here are eight ways it can help.
Recycling junkmail defends the environment
against the accumlation of garbage.
Collage, a copyright-infringement-based
art form, resists commodifcation: it is illegal for me to sell my work.
Slick color advertisements are meant
to dazzle and mystify. Transforming them into ugly art defeats and mocks
their intentions.
Recontextualizing propaganda can
help measure the depths of its lies.
Collage further resists commodifcation
by by making no pretense of timeliness: it is assembled from disturbingly
contemporary materials and does not age well.
Collage does not conceal the details
of its construction. Seams, torn edges, tape, and rubber-cement stains are
visible. Thus it can make producers out of consumers.
Collage also has no popularly acknowledged
canon.
No collage artist will ever risk
being accused of genius. I am comfortable with the idea that collage isn't
even art. So we'll have to find something else to do with it other than
admire it, but it, and hope to meet the artist.
