Collage has profoundly shaped the evolution of painting, drawing, photography, and film through its embrace of juxtaposition, scale shifts, and the reappropriation of found imagery. Alongside assemblage and montage, collage emerged as one of the most generative principles of 20th-century art, introducing crucial aesthetic issues that continue to resonate in the modern and postmodern eras. While many iconic works in this medium date to the 20th century, this course positions collage as a dynamic, contemporary practice, interrogating both its historical roots and its ongoing relevance in the current cultural moment. Through lectures, we will explore the work of contemporary artists who have revitalized the medium, using collage to address complex themes of identity, politics, and the fragmented experience of modern life. We will examine the fundamental generative principles of collage - juxtaposition, displacement, materiality, difference, and event, and how these principles intersect with issues of location (where it happens), object (what it is), process (how it is realized), and purpose (why it is). The studio component will focus on hands-on experimentation, where students will develop a personal visual language through the manipulation of paper, found materials, and traditional and non-traditional techniques. Emphasis will be placed on the physicality of collage - its material properties and its capacity to create meaningful experiences through the act of making. This course encourages students to critically explore collage's potential for commentary on the political, aesthetic, and personal dimensions of contemporary existence. Through the development of individual projects, students will create work that speaks to the multiplicity of voices and experiences shaping our world today.
4 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit · GER: WAY-CE
Collage has profoundly shaped the evolution of painting, drawing, photography, and film through its embrace of juxtaposition, scale shifts, and the reappropriation of found imagery. Alongside assemblage and montage, collage emerged as one of the most generative principles of 20th-century art, introducing crucial aesthetic issues that continue to resonate in the modern and postmodern eras. While many iconic works in this medium date to the 20th century, this course positions collage as a dynamic, contemporary practice, interrogating both its historical roots and its ongoing relevance in the current cultural moment. Through lectures, we will explore the work of contemporary artists who have revitalized the medium, using collage to address complex themes of identity, politics, and the fragmented experience of modern life. We will examine the fundamental generative principles of collage - juxtaposition, displacement, materiality, difference, and event, and how these principles intersect with issues of location (where it happens), object (what it is), process (how it is realized), and purpose (why it is). The studio component will focus on hands-on experimentation, where students will develop a personal visual language through the manipulation of paper, found materials, and traditional and non-traditional techniques. Emphasis will be placed on the physicality of collage - its material properties and its capacity to create meaningful experiences through the act of making. This course encourages students to critically explore collage's potential for commentary on the political, aesthetic, and personal dimensions of contemporary existence. Through the development of individual projects, students will create work that speaks to the multiplicity of voices and experiences shaping our world today.
Offered in Autumn 2026 at Stanford University.