Collages 1975-present
These works alchemize material of the past made for propaganda and commercial advertisement, thus taking on new significance and meaning in these days of crisis and catastrophe—on a seemingly daily basis.
Melissa Wolf's collage / ‘bricolages’ represent key aspects of EIDIA's 'aesthetic research' by transforming accumulations of ‘readymades’, if you will, into an aesthetic displacement.
These assemblages are montage images culled from found materials (some over hundred years old) which served to promote the consumerist ethos as the raison d'être of American life. The collages plummet the depths of the ’collective memory’ contrasting images of revolution, violence, protest and war with the ‘objects of desire’, sex, cars, fashion, fast food and beautiful homes.
These works are influenced by: the "Cut-Ups" of William Burroughs and Brion Gysin; the "Combine" paintings of Robert Rauschenberg, the “Shadow Boxes” of Joseph Cornell and photo montages by Gilbert and George. Many in the Collage Series are composed on found materials such as vintage and used: record and album covers, vinyls, surfboards, snowboards, skateboards / decks, and archival handmade paper. Dimensions can vary from 4 x 5 inches to 60 x 420 inches. They are in numerous private and public collections, along with other EIDIA artworks.
These works alchemize material of the past made for propaganda and commercial advertisement, thus taking on new significance and meaning in these days of crisis and catastrophe—on a seemingly daily basis.
Melissa Wolf's collage / ‘bricolages’ represent key aspects of EIDIA's 'aesthetic research' by transforming accumulations of ‘readymades’, if you will, into an aesthetic displacement.
These assemblages are montage images culled from found materials (some over hundred years old) which served to promote the consumerist ethos as the raison d'être of American life. The collages plummet the depths of the ’collective memory’ contrasting images of revolution, violence, protest and war with the ‘objects of desire’, sex, cars, fashion, fast food and beautiful homes.
These works are influenced by: the "Cut-Ups" of William Burroughs and Brion Gysin; the "Combine" paintings of Robert Rauschenberg, the “Shadow Boxes” of Joseph Cornell and photo montages by Gilbert and George. Many in the Collage Series are composed on found materials such as vintage and used: record and album covers, vinyls, surfboards, snowboards, skateboards / decks, and archival handmade paper. Dimensions can vary from 4 x 5 inches to 60 x 420 inches. They are in numerous private and public collections, along with other EIDIA artworks.
