WHAT IS A LINE - Notpaper

NOTPAPER

'Notpaper is a blog dedicated to showcasing the work of international collage artists. We strive to meet the artists and understand the thoughts behind the process, so interviews with artists are a big part of what we do. If you are new to the site, please enjoy our archives featuring hundreds of collagists.'

Notpaper hols a vast library of collage artists, giving them a place to showcase there work. What's great about this website is that there's always plenty of interviews with working artists. This allows for different understandings of collage, as well as giving insight into different techniques and the lives of the artists themselves.

The website is packed full of artists, therefore I will just note a few on here, but it is definitely worth a browse.

Interview archives

The End is Near!

A New York international collage exhibition featuring the following artists:

Frank Viola (USA)
Pierre Jean Varet (France)
Jonathan Talbot (USA)
Steven Specht (USA)
Sparkleface (USA)
Deborah Snider (USA)
Sylvia Netcheva (Bulgaria)
Kevin Gilmore (USA)
Aprile Elcich (Canada)Dale Copeland (Australia)

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Describe your work in 10 words or less.

Material and process lead explorations of subjective and objective experience.

What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!

I guess I love it all really, there are so many ways materials can be introduced that the reason for enjoying it or not varies. I'm always on the hunt for different inks and printing methods to combine with papers I use for collage. Otherwise I'm digging in any paper formatted document for certain weights, colours, textures and generally imagery that might provoke ideas. Recently I have been working from a book called 'The Family, a social history of the 20th century'.

Explain your favourite techniques.

I like to work with materials I can develop before creating work out of them. I also enjoy getting pretty hands on, sometimes I use a really thick rubber based ink applied thinly over printed material that allows for text and image to subtly show through yet you get a really solid black too. I use scalpels and fixatives mainly but with what can be done digitally I'm eager to try new things on computers, they have ever evolving possibilities. Working out compositions is something I'm yet to be able to explain as a technique, sometimes what to do is right in front of you, other times its not even around. Either way when you know you're getting it right it's one of the most satisfying things you can do.

What other artists do you admire?

WAFA collective, Robert Rauschenberg, Kurt Schwitter, Sol LeWitt, Franz Kline. Anyone who is the author if an image I have added to my favourites on Flickr and finally all the Limited press collective; Ryan Orme, Tom Mattison, Joel Wyllie, Dan Paton and Josh Rose.

Alex Hamrick

Describe your work in 10 words or less.

Necessary. Always in danger of becoming stale.

What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!

I'm a big fan of found paper. Street stuff, things I pick up when walking around. Older things too, but i'm not concerned with vintage business. I like tags and stickers... paper with a lot of solid colour. Used packaging. The dirtier the dirtier the better, makes for good texture. I like cardboard and card stock like what you find as backing on complimentary hotel notepads. Brown kraft paper. Brown anything, really. I have a soft spot for that. Gray, too. Canal paper. MAsking tape, scotch tape, Elmer's white glue, Yes! paste, x-acto knives and blades, scissors, cutting mats and rules. Bugs and fabric and hair. Wood. Cretacolour Nero soft pencils. Thread. Random 3-D objects like tumbtacks and matches. I've had a real love affair with matches.