Collage art seems to have found itself a home (and an audience) on the Internet. With endless blogs circulating appropriated images, it’s always interesting to see the way that people find connections between multiple images, collating them in a way that creates new images with entirely new meanings. Although, with so many nameless artists putting their old National Geographics to good use, its rare to find a collage (or ‘mixed media’) artist whose work really stands out in its own right.
Brandi Strickland is an artist living in Virginia whose detailed works combine techniques of collage, painting, and drawing. Each artwork seems to have a more considered composition, while still retaining a scrapbook or personal diary appeal. In her artist statement Brandi explains: “For me, collage begins with collecting, saving, acquiring, searching; then, as if they were memories, I meticulously sort, separate and organize them into something new, something that is both happily accidental and tediously arranged.” Like Henry Darger or the creators behind illustrated Grateful Dead fan mail of the 1960s and 70s, perhaps digital collage will be the folk art of our generation.
