Click image to enlarge:
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Notes on these collages:
- The awesome baby images from these three collages are from an obscure humor book called The Baby: A Photographic Inquiry Into Certain Private Opinions. It’s full of ridiculously cute baby photos from 1950 and each photo is coupled with a corny quote, as if the babies’ facial expressions are in response to them. For example: Do you like being told ghost stories just before bedtime? and What do you think about the local situation?
- The snakes are from the 1970 book, The Reptiles: Young Readers Library. There was a lot of close, intricate cutting involved with these images.
- The first two collages are called “Ready to Attack (Parts 1 and 2).” The third collage is called “Shell Shocked” and shows the results of reptile attacks on babies. Eye sockets are taken over by seashells and hair growth speeds up alarmingly (parted on the side!). It’s as if this child is suddenly transforming into an aquatic sea creature television newscaster.
- I like how these collages blend the cute innocence of 1950s clean-cut America with the slimy menace of tree-clinging serpents. It’s like a toddler version of the Garden of Eden.
- The next Paper Trumpets column will be my thirtieth and final installment. It has been such a fun and educational experience for me to do this column and I’ve interviewed so many interesting artists in the time I’ve been doing it. Thanks for your support, and I’ll see you one last time next month.
Paper Trumpets Spotlight: Laura Restrepo
Recently, I found a new collage artist on Tumblr and became enthralled by her scrappy and beautifully messy style. I appreciate the loose coolness of this style, as if the collages are made quickly with a lot of trust put in the viewer’s eyes. There’s a confidence on display that hints at someone who has studied long and seriously about the presentation of her creations. On first glance, I couldn’t tell who the person was behind the work or where they were from. I liked the collages so much that I sent a message to the creator and decided to interview her for Paper Trumpets. Introducing teen wonder, Laura Restrepo.
The Rumpus: First off, can you tell me more about yourself? How long you’ve been doing collage and where you live?
Laura Restrepo: My name is Laura Restrepo aka Lar Perserot, I’m seventeen, and I live in Medellín, Colombia. I’ve been making collage since I was fourteen years old. It all started when I went to a local drawing group and I met a girl who made really pretty collages. Her name was Sara and I looked at some of her fanzines and got very motivated but didn’t knew where I could get any beautiful images like hers so I just forgot about it.
Then one day I was walking in my city and I saw some old magazines that were displayed in a bookstore. I immediately bought a few and started to make collages that same day. Since then, I cannot stop. After that, I came to know the work of people like Kurt Schwitters, Hanelore Baron, and Hannah Höch. The whole Dadaist movement inspired me a lot in those early years and the whole idea of playing with images, “damaging” them and creating a new one, one that now possessed a different value, at least to me, was something not only relaxing but also incredibly fun! Mainly because collage gives you a lot of possibilities and always ends in an unexpected result.
Now collage is an important part of my everyday life. I always did it kind of secretly but then started my blog where I post things almost daily.
Rumpus: Do you make other art as well?
Restrepo: I don’t know if it can be called art but I really like to draw and make comics. Some friends and I have a blog called peliculasgayer.tumblr.com where we post comics almost everyday in case you want to check it out.
Rumpus: What sort of images do you enjoy working with the most for collaging?
Restrepo: I enjoy working with images of maps, flags, and different cultures around the world. I’ve always liked geography and geopolitics and it’s fun to be able to play with the world political order.
Rumpus: I like how you seem to have a lot of different approaches. Do you want to keep exploring various styles?
Restrepo: Definitely! Using one style would be very boring to me. I love to play with all kind of images and combinations because it makes the results a lot more interesting and entertaining
Rumpus: Do you go to high school? What do your teachers and friends think about what you’re creating?
Restrepo: I’m in university now studying history. In Colombia, people graduate pretty young. Only a couple of friends know that I make collage and they encourage me to keep doing it, but almost nobody else knows. For example, no one in my family knows that I do it, not even my mom.
Rumpus: Where do you see your work going in the future?
Restrepo: I have no idea; I just want to keep making it because it satisfies me. But even if nobody saw it or even if nobody liked it, I would still do it.
