WEST LINN - The West Linn Public Library will feature the collage artwork of Susan Schenk during the month of August. The exhibit will run August 2-29 in the library’s Community Room which is open to the public when not in use, and always open on Sundays noon - 5 p.m. An artist’s reception will be held on Sunday, August 3 at 2:00.
The collages are torn and cut paper glued on a board, with an occasional embedded object. Schenk primarily uses discarded magazines, but she also uses other paper sources such as wallpaper, cancelled stamps, or photocopied line art. Her preference is paper with words and lettering, looking to see if some hidden messages emerge as the papers scraps get pasted down.
Schenk first learned collage at an adult art class. The class made a number of abstract collages and then the teacher assigned as a project the task of making a collage as a study of a masterpiece, making it non-abstract and recognizable. Curious and skeptical that she could make something recognizable by simply ripping paper, Schenk took on the challenge. She now makes representational collages such as the ones in this exhibit.
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