The Art of Collage

Since our living history theme this year is 1930's, we're giving special attention to artists who were active during that time period. One of the milestones of 20th art is the combination of collage in paintings by artists like Picasso and Braque.

A collage is a work of art made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. An artistic collage work may include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers, portions of other artwork, photographs, and such, glued to a piece of paper or canvas.

The World Book encyclopedia says,

By arranging the materials in a certain way, an artist can create
strange or witty effects not possible in traditional painting.

Second and third grade art classes are working on paintings using these techniques. As they finish up, I'll begin posting some. In the meantime, here's an example of this kind of art by Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948).