About collage:
...for example, the labels in my collages from
"Gauloises," "Players:" I sometimes smoke them . . .
The papers in my collages are usually things that are familiar to me,
part of my life . . .
Collages are a modern
substitute for still-life . . . Traditional still-life seems funny in
America, but in Europe completely natural since you see one at the end
of each meal.
In collage there are a lot of
ready-made details, for when one wants details. My painting deals in
large simplifications for the most part. Collage in contrast is a way to
work with autobiographical material -- which one wants sometimes . . . I
do feel more joyful with collage, less austere.
,,, it is a form of play. Which
painting, in general, is not, for me, at least . . .
In painting...
I start with the canvas, but with
certain conditions set. (There are certain things I won't do to a
picture.) I begin somewhat by chance but then work by a logical sequence
-- by internal relations, in the Hegelian sense -according to strictly
held values. For example, I like warm painting. Some painters will
choose gray, I use yellow ochre for the middle tone. I also insist that
the picture be relatively flat . . .
A picture is a collaboration
between artist and canvas. "Bad" painting is when an artist
enforces his will without regard for the sensibilities of the canvas . .
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