MAX ERNST

For the start of my MUSIC IS FREE project I have begun to make images and collages out of found materials, old and recycled imagery. Due to the 

fact I am working with collage I felt it was necessary to reference Max Ernst as he is almost the founding father of collage. Although the German artist is generally more well known for his paitntings, it is his collages that I have been looking at and have been inspired by. His collages look very similar to some contemporary collages today even though he was producing these images more than 50 years ago. I am blogging about him to show that I am aware of his work and his inspiration on the art world. Many people today create collages and similar work to Ernst without knowing anything about the origins of collage as an art form.

Ernst went through a stage in his life where he produced nothing but incredible collages. What makes them more amazing is the fact that he produced all of his work by hand, without the aids of computers or photoshop to  cut and paste things together. His images are so skilfully and seamlessly pieced together that they look like one flat image and it is hard to tell that they even are made by collage. The craftmanship and care that went into his work far outweighs anything produced today by any modern illustrators/artists. The invention of computers and photoshopping software means that people do not have to spend time, or even be very skilled to create work like Ernst, but there is always going to be an honesty and a deepness in Ernst's work that noone could ever achieve using modern techniques. There is also a feeling of fun and humour in his work that you do not see as much these days. You can tell the guy had a sense of humour.

I have posted a selection of my favourite pieces below, look at them, they're dead good :)