So, What is a Collage?
Simply put, a collage is any collection of visual art (generally) assembled in such a way that it can be viewed as a whole, or single piece. The origin of the collage could be well argued to have existed deep within human history but the actual term, collage, was not coined until the early twentieth century by none other than Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.
I will claim that almost every person reading this blog has probably created some form of collage in their lifetime, and I don’t believe that would be a baseless statement. Some of us might have to think back a little farther than others, but chances are you’ve sat in front of a magazine with a pair of scissors and some glue at some point in your life and created a collage. When I was young we would take cuttings of objects, letters, shapes and other miscellany from newspapers and magazines to create all kinds of art with them.
Perhaps your collage was photos? Assemblages of you and your best friend’s trip to Las Vegas, or the time the family went on that Caribbean cruise? I will even suggest that the humble refrigerator has served as tapestry to many households as they collect various magnets, children’s art work, report cards or holiday cards into an ever evolving collage of that particular family.
The collage can hold a wealth of information, or be completely meaningless. It can follow a particular motif or be spontaneous and eccentric. A collage is a reservoir waiting to be filled with whatever you happen to throw at it, and as such is a brilliant form of expression.
Collage Art
It’s hard to imagine that the harmless collages made by children today have evolved from art movements (or rather non-movements) that were considered so offensive the form was actively protested, and artists even faced penalties.
The collage was, in many ways, anti-art. It was not a fine painting, and it was certainly not a sculpture. It was not a piece of literature or a musical composition. It lacked aesthetics, sensibility, and order. Here was a form of expression that challenged everything that art was, and did so rather defiantly. The Dadaist’s were among those who used the collage and other mixed media presentations as a way to express their distaste for the state of art at the time.
The movement made a powerful impact on modern art, and perhaps almost against their intentions, this anti-art movement went on to inspire many of the most recognizable art movements in recent history such as Surrealist art.
Collage Ideas
Of course your collage will look far different from anyone else and you can arrange it just about any way you’d like. Here are some collage ideas to get you started.
Make a collage of your vacation photos for example!
Or your favorite season…
Image by Thanks for your Like • donations welcome from Pixabay
Never forget about your pets. A collage of the animals that matter in your life are something that you will cherish forever.
Image by Here and now, unfortunately, ends my journey on Pixabay from Pixabay
Use the collage concept to create great photo documentaries of the big moments in your life, such as a wedding.
There are limitless opportunities for collage making. And don’t let not having any ideas stand in your way. No matter how much you plan, it always starts with putting in the first piece, so choose something and build upon that idea. Eventually, you’ll have something great, or crazy, or funny, or sad, or beautiful or whatever!
Create a Collage
You can create a collage pretty easy these days in photo editing software. And we have lots of tutorials to help you out:
How to Customize Collage Templates
How to Make Collage Templates from Scratch
Want free collage templates?
If you are a PaintShop Pro user, there are some free collage templates available right in PaintShop Pro. Just go to File > New from Template and browse through the different categories to find free templates and some available for purchase. And keep checking our Freebies page, where we post a different freebie every week, like collage templates, photo frames, overlays and more.
So go ahead and give it a try, make you own, make something crazy or something simple. Just don’t forget to share it with us in our galleries page. We’d love to see what you’ve put together.
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