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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Nathaniel Whitcomb’s collage series ‘Unexpected Poetry’ takes the process of collage in a new direction, one that was started by the Dadaists in the early 20th Century but is now firmly a 21st Century medium.
This is not a series of pictures that are juxtaposed with text rather the text and image reveal each other as they slowly divest themselves of unnecessary information. They strip off, are naked, bare and open to interpretation. It makes them a wonderful series to study. This is a process of simplicity, a negation of superfluous noise, a distillation of many thoughts down to a specific idea. What makes the collages so extraordinary is that they are rooted in the automatic writing of the Surrealists yet display a contemporary collage aesthetic that has played an instrumental part in contemporary culture.
To make these poetic images Whitcomb used archive pages from the National Geographic Magazine and looked for words within the text to elevate the image, would find a commonality between text and image. The meaning of the image was then heightened through a cut and paste techniques to extenuate the poetry of the language. As he says himself:
Simplifying often reveals a core, or if diligent, a hidden subtext. In this ongoing series, unintentional meanings buried within existing narratives are revealed, forming connections previously unnoticed.
It is a circular process, one feeding off the other, both creating something new. It is a reflective series of collages that are illuminating. This is an artist who is worth keeping your eye on as he continues to explore the art of collage.
He also makes motion collages which are incredible. Check them out.
