Just after we walked the High Line in New York, we visited a small local gallery called the "Allouche Gallery", which was home to a full exhibition and a room of smaller more independent pieces. I noticed a composition that included torn up posters that provide a unique texture and showed layering in a way that exhibits the progression of time.
As a part of the "Nouveau Realisme" group in the 1960's, translates to new realism, Villegle is an artist whom uses a boundless amount of collage and assemblage in his work. Along with some other artists, Villegle used the torn poster technique to create interesting textures and designs. The main idea in this movement was to use found objects that were mundane and to turn them into something interesting and eye catching. For instance, many destroyed or vandalised objects that they would be able to turn into new arrangements; in Villegle's case, he turned new posters that he found into a collage of stripped away advertisements, purely for the viewers eye. Along the streets of Paris, Villegle uses found works of art (posters and stickers) to create a decollage of imagery.
The aspect about his work that I am attracted to the most is his technique and the distressed effect that he manages to get through the tearing and vandalism of posters that he finds on the walls of Paris. Like most nouveau realists he intentionally destroys found objects, however rather than some of the ones who use mostly 3D objects, Villegle goes for something more subtle. Villegle layers stripped pieces of posters and stickers onto a canvas continuously whilst also peeling away layers in certain areas to get a ripped, rough, worn-out effect. I think this process works well with my starting point due to the progression of time and the gradual wearing away of the materials over time.
I believe that the colour palette is also important in this composition as there are some complimentary colours involved in the piece. For example: the purple with the yellow and the red with the green. When compared to some of his earlier decollage compositions, the colour scheme in "Quai de Grenelle" is much brighter as he used darker colour palettes earlier on. The brighter colour palettes show a change in energy and personality over time when compared to the more dull, less expressive colour palettes.
His found materials are what provoked the name of the works. In this case, he named the piece, "Quai de Grenelle", after the street he took the posters from, acting as an almost homage of the original place that the posters were taken from. In my work for instance, I could take materials that I brought back from New York and create an homage to the time I was there; this would also relate to my starting point as I would be able to show a past time and memory, linking to the exam question, Timeworn.
Additionally, the layout of the posters have been composed in a way that frames certain aspects of the piece that show context more successfully. Due to the layering of the posters and how the top layer has been torn away to show what is actually underneath. For example, certain words and phrases can be seen through the rips; "époque" meaning "time. It also shows stars, almost mimicking or even honouring America due to the similarities in the colours of the stars.
His work is similar to the almost accidental collage that I saw when walking the Brooklyn Bridge. The layers and layers of stickers and posters on this pole created a similar technique to Villegle's work. Even when accidental, the work appears interesting to me, maybe even more so than Villegle's work.
How can I use this work as inspiration?
I am going to create multiple experiments regarding collage and different techniques into creating them, including the stick and tear technique that Villegle uses in his work. I am also starting to create some collage pieces on tiles in a similar way to Villegle. I used tiles as I liked the way that the stickers stuck to the tiles in the subway in New York and the textures that were left on the wall when they have been ripped away.
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| Jacques Villegle Allouche Gallery "Quai de Grenelle" Torn posters on canvas 1977 46.9 x 32.7 inches |
"The whole world makes work for me; I only have to collect it" - Jacques Villegle to the Allouche Gallery.
The aspect about his work that I am attracted to the most is his technique and the distressed effect that he manages to get through the tearing and vandalism of posters that he finds on the walls of Paris. Like most nouveau realists he intentionally destroys found objects, however rather than some of the ones who use mostly 3D objects, Villegle goes for something more subtle. Villegle layers stripped pieces of posters and stickers onto a canvas continuously whilst also peeling away layers in certain areas to get a ripped, rough, worn-out effect. I think this process works well with my starting point due to the progression of time and the gradual wearing away of the materials over time.
I believe that the colour palette is also important in this composition as there are some complimentary colours involved in the piece. For example: the purple with the yellow and the red with the green. When compared to some of his earlier decollage compositions, the colour scheme in "Quai de Grenelle" is much brighter as he used darker colour palettes earlier on. The brighter colour palettes show a change in energy and personality over time when compared to the more dull, less expressive colour palettes.His found materials are what provoked the name of the works. In this case, he named the piece, "Quai de Grenelle", after the street he took the posters from, acting as an almost homage of the original place that the posters were taken from. In my work for instance, I could take materials that I brought back from New York and create an homage to the time I was there; this would also relate to my starting point as I would be able to show a past time and memory, linking to the exam question, Timeworn.
Additionally, the layout of the posters have been composed in a way that frames certain aspects of the piece that show context more successfully. Due to the layering of the posters and how the top layer has been torn away to show what is actually underneath. For example, certain words and phrases can be seen through the rips; "époque" meaning "time. It also shows stars, almost mimicking or even honouring America due to the similarities in the colours of the stars. |
| Brooklyn Bridge - accidental collage. |
How can I use this work as inspiration?
I am going to create multiple experiments regarding collage and different techniques into creating them, including the stick and tear technique that Villegle uses in his work. I am also starting to create some collage pieces on tiles in a similar way to Villegle. I used tiles as I liked the way that the stickers stuck to the tiles in the subway in New York and the textures that were left on the wall when they have been ripped away.
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