Music Cubed
Collage and music have been a perfect combo from the get-go!
Perhaps the most famous combination of music and collage— and even the first collages— comes from the Cubists, particularly Picasso and Braque. Their innovative approach often centered around musical instruments, which they visually deconstructed and reassembled in abstract compositions.
Picasso is sometimes credited with the invention of collage, though he and Georges Braque developed the technique simultaneously. (The artists’ relationship was said to be collaborative with a dose of rivalry.)
Braque is usually credited with creating the first “papier collé” (glued paper) in 1912 with his piece "Fruit Dish and Glass," which to me, also hints at the shape of a guitar or violin. Picasso quickly adopted and expanded on the technique.
Check out Picasso's “Guitar and Wine Glass” and “Violin and Sheet Music” or Braque's "Violin and Pipe (Le Quotidien)" for ideas. And let their innovative approach inspire you to break down and reassemble musical instruments in your own work.
Steps
Planning / Prepping
Start with Your Base Paper: Get a sense of your collage’s overall size so you can plan for the proportions of your instrument shapes in the next steps. Backgrounds that could work well may be solid colors, or something with a pattern (like Picasso’s wallpaper background in ‘Guitar’.
Choose Your Instrument(s): Select one or more instruments to focus on—guitar, violin, trumpet, or even a drum set.
Outline and Simplify: Draw basic outlines of these instruments. Focus on recognizable features like the hourglass shape of a guitar or the bell of a trumpet. No need to be precise; think of this step as creating a general guide for cutting out shapes later.
Source Images: Alternatively, find actual images of instruments in magazines or online that can be cut out and abstracted.
Gather Ephemera: Following in Picasso’s footsteps, you might want to incorporate materials like newspaper, cardboard, wallpaper, sheet music, or string to add texture and depth.
Constructing / Collaging
Deconstruct and Reimagine: Break down the elements of the instruments into basic shapes and forms. Think about how Picasso deconstructed objects and rearranged them in unconventional ways.
You can deconstruct at the stencil stage (e.g., break the guitar shape into three separate elements), or use a single stencil and then deconstruct it after creating the piece.
Create Your Collage: Use these abstracted shapes and other elements to build a dynamic composition.
Background: Consider using a neutral or textured background so the instrument shapes pop. You could echo earthy tones that Picasso often used or go bold with contrast.
Arrange and Compose: Assemble your shapes, playing with fragmentation and reassembly in a Cubist style. Overlap, rotate, and rearrange the shapes to create depth and movement.
Add Details: Abstract or literal details like guitar strings or piano keys can be added with collage elements or sketches to enhance the musical nature of your piece.
