American Voyeur : Fictionalized Potrait of a Montreal Artist Part 2

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Stage two. Everything is broken down, it’s time to navigate through the fragments that surround me. I stare distressingly at all the pieces in hope of an epiphany. Now I surrender to the insanity that lies before me and embrace the unconventional. The amount of time that goes into each piece is always a mystery. When everything is flowing I could be finished in an hour, but the more frustrating pieces could be a week-long torturous journey that occupies every waking thought. Generally, the pieces that destroy my psyche are the ones that have the more lasting impression.

Each collage is a frequently maddening obsession featuring a collection of images that will somehow resonate as a cohesive piece when all the pieces are in their correct place. Each collage is a choreography, it’s about finding the perfect partner for each image, not all images dance well together. If there is one talent needed in this type of work it is knowing when two images don’t mesh. What I love about working in collage is that it is my job not to surrender to boundaries. My job is to know what the boundaries are and to go far and away from them and construct a frenzied, chaotic, and poetic collection of images that amplify each other and the mind of the viewer. Also, it is my job to create a piece that works as a surrogate for myself, the creator.

There are few who spend as much time on this type of collage street art. The pay isn’t good and the time occupied in a piece is usually vast. Something I work to express in all my pieces is the concept of art and its boundaries. It’s my belief that art is tainted when it’s not free; it’s free in expression and belongs to everyone. I’m hard at work on the upheaval of this “free” concept, which nowadays seems to be a term met with contempt. I guess this is where I’m different. It’s easy to tell from a piece when the artist created in solely for the money, which is about 99% of the artists working. Personally, I’ve never harbored the desire to become a successful artist. That’s more of an illusion. I’ m just an artist who doesn’t mind misery.

For Part 1 of a Fictionalized Portrait of a Montreal Artist, click HERE.