Art Matters

Shangwe · Art Matters

Art Matters  2017 ⓒ Nicole Moore

 Art Matters
 2017
 8.5 x 12.5 inches
 Mixed Media Newspaper   Abstract Collage

This collage was made in an environmentally-friendly way, using recycled materials mounted on a used piece of cardboard, that was originally a parcel envelope.

The beauty of making a collage is that there are no rules, although 'good' composition is important in terms of harmony. Really, there are numerous ways of making a collage since you can assemble multiple textures, materials and colours; it is a fluid and flexible artwork process. You can even create new collages by reworking old ones plus you can add paint. The sky's the limit!😊

Magazines & Newspapers:

For my Art Matters collage, I used a simple technique of tearing up pages from a copy of The Guardian Newspaper, pasting them over or near one another using a Liquitex Matte Gel medium, and applying surfaces in some kind of colour scheme. I selected the newspaper pages that drew me to them because of their cool blue and green tones and then I added imagery of cars, and people with umbrellas. The section where the traffic lights and buildings are placed upside down is deliberate. I paid less attention to the context and content of the newspaper pages. I was more interested in assembling shapes and creating something new. I did however choose the additional text/phrases carefully. The final piece is offered to the viewer as a long read.

Art Matters:

When I made the Art Matters collage (2017)) it was the year after the then Chancellor abolished maintenance grants for lower-income students. University student fees in England also increased from £9,000 to £9,250 in the same year for full-time and from £4,500  to £4,625 for part-time students. 

As I reflect back to when I was a mature student studying for a BA degree at the University of Westminster in the 1980s aged 28, I am grateful that not only did I have no fees to pay, but I also received a grant towards my living expenses. Those days are long gone. However, I haven't stopped valuing education, probably because of disruptions to my secondary education in the early days for all manner of reasons.  

Fast forward to modern times and university fees continue to be barriers to higher education, and universities are run more like an enterprise than an educational places of learning. You can't blame the younger generation of potential students fresh out of school or college for being reluctant to apply for a student loan knowing that they are going to end up in debt. The problem with this dilemma is that the arts and creative industries will end up being elite businesses, as we lose the dynamic and diverse pool of art students. And it's not just the arts that will lose the pool of talent. In all fields of potential graduate employment, the same will apply. 

Art Matters! It can communicate, inspire, motivate and educate. Visual art in particular has a dynamic power that enables anyone with access to a pencil and a sketchpad to express themselves in any way they desire. Art has helped me make sense of our complex world by giving me a language for my emotions that I may otherwise have struggled to put into words. Joy, sadness, rage — all can be expressed by the power of art. We need the arts in education to be open and accessible to all without the financial barriers of university fees and the burden of debt.

Comments welcome!

Thanks for reading.