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Collage Works by Joseph Christy

I have selected the work of Joseph Christy as the most notable suite of works submitted for the 10th Baker's Dozen International Collage Exchange. My choice was based on a number of different considerations. Among them were which group of works fulfilled the greatest number of attributes that distinguish great collage art.

I will lay out what I consider some of those attributes.
  • Professional construction of the work which includes the use of quality materials, proficiency of technique, good composition, etc.
  • Cohesive group of works that explore an idea with focus.
  • not excessively derivative of other contemporary artists
  • image is more than a sum of the material used.
  • the body of work shows an understanding and respect for the medium, its history and for the integrity of the exchange
  • ability of the artist to achieve a personal mode of expression in collage and thus brings a fresh voice to the medium
  • not overly facile or watered down but exhibited a certain rigor and sincerity
While there were a number of bodies of work that fulfilled many of these attributes, Among them: Parmlee Gomez, Elizabeth Concannon, Kristen Woodward, Dilar Pereira, Ye Leen Lee, Marie Stockhill, F Bradley Jessop and Rebecca Hope Woods. I was the most delighted with the work presented here from the standpoint of being especially surprising and fresh as a group.

Christy's works were all executed on 12x9 sheets of watercolor paper. The method is a combination of magazine illustrations, colored paper, ink and water media.

These works displayed a very interesting exploration of using the open space of the base paper, interplay of positive and negative space and interesting juxtapositions of cut, torn and painted lines and shapes and interplay of original and reproduced imagery.
The color relations were clear and pleasing.

 The works depended of the careful attention to detail and composition rather than a mere seduction of the materials used which often is the case in collage art. It is difficult for artists to overcome the romance of the materials they are working with and not depend on them for the central interest of the work. Because of this, many works are often only an assembling of interesting things rather than a work of art that transcends the material being used.

When looking at Christy's work, I am reminded of some of the fine work of Enrique Lechuga in particular this work and this work

Christy's works are clearly about more than the interesting bit of this or that material and deal with visual movement, musicality and a full range of techniques to achieve his finished works while at the same time maintaining a clean, open and engaging simplicity.

Additionally, while each work seems clearly related to each other work, each is completely unique and do not all depend on the same few tricks over and over again which reveals a creative depth to Christy's curiosity and process that is going to make him someone to keep an eye on in the future.

I thank all of the fine artists who participated in this exchange and hope many will continue to participate in future exchanges

Cecil Touchon, Director
April 17, 2007
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