Explore our Collage Art collection
When you brainstorm an idea, you’ll probably visualise the end goal. Imagining what content you’ll need to bring that idea to life. Photography, video, maybe even vectors. But have you ever looked at collages as a medium?
Whether you want to express a certain emotion or you want to take your creativity a little further, collage art is a medium that can say a lot in a very creative way.
Many creatives are creating and then scanning collages, and others are digitally creating them. Both types of collage art can be found on Alamy. Fancy creating your own collage? Learn how to in 16 steps.
Where it all began
The word ‘collage’ derives from the French word ‘glue’, and was first popularised by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in 1912. This wasn’t the first time the word collage had been used, or even the first time a collage had been created. But this era was when it became mainstream in the art world.
After the first world war, the Dada movement made collage art more popular still. Starting in Switzerland, Dadaists began creating artwork known as photomontages. This art movement resulted in satirical and nonsensical artwork and has been described as a reaction to the horrors of the war.
This period paved the way for collages to become a fundamental part of the art world and is an important moment in history. If the Dada movement hadn’t evolved, art today may look very different.
Collages therefore became a form of self-expression for creatives in the 1920s, and some of the greatest artists have dabbled in it – Hannah Hoch, Kurt Schwitters and John Stezaker to name a few.
Kurt Schwitters argues that everyday materials including wood, plasterboard, wheels, cotton are equal in expression to paint itself, suggesting that an artist can use any materials, and it would still be art. Creating a collage is no less an artform than painting a picture.
Sure, you could say that someone is just cutting out some images and sticking them together. But a collage is creativity at its finest. Having to imagine a concept, something that’s unrealistic and isn’t real, then putting it on paper, using elements to express an emotion or tell a story.
The advances of technology
There are many creatives today creating collages, but with one big difference; they’re digitally created.
Technology has advanced a fair bit in the last half a century. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the first computer engineers developed a paint program – known as AARON – which allowed creatives to take their art to a new level.
It seems crazy to think that the technology we use today didn’t exists 40 years ago. Photoshop would have been like gold in the 1980s.
With such great advances of technology, people today are now creating illustrations, vectors and collages all on screen. On Alamy we currently have over 7 million illustrations, which continues to grow. Our Escape From Reality collection highlights how far creativity has come in the digital world.
Utilising digital collages
Digital collages can be a way for brands to take their creativity just a little further. AND Festival in Liverpool used collages in their recent campaign and brought new life to otherwise disparate objects. The concept is jarring and creates a sense of curiosity.
Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) has written on one of their front covers “Nature is blooming all over again for beauty brands,” with a collage of a lady surrounded by leaves and flowers emphasising their theme for the issue.
Pinterest are also utilising the benefits of collage art. Each of the predicted trends are now represented by a collage allowing the audience to visually absorb each idea rather than having to read about it, or try to understand it through one photograph.
Should companies be considering collages in their marketing? Yes. Great marketing pulls at the heart strings, and collages are often a form of self-expression which can combine multiple feelings and emotions.
Yes, you can capture the feelings in a photograph, but a collage also does just that. Each piece of the puzzle is specifically placed and considered, creatively telling a story or evoking an emotion.
So if you’re working on a creative campaign, or trying to evoke a strong message, maybe collage art is the answer.
