A Little History of Art
We would like children to think about art as something that is alive and present, organic and available. We also want them to know that contemporary art is part of a larger cultural history, and that each allows access to the other. A New Edition can be the start of a lifetime of thinking about what we make and why, and what that tells us about ourselves. What follows is a bit of information about the kinds of ideas and processes at work in our prints.
 Abstraction
Abstraction is the process of paring down an image to its most essential elements of shape, line and color, and is an integral part of how we see and define the world. Artists such as Joseph Albers used abstraction as the foundation for innovative creative processes, recognizing that simple forms can be used to communicate more complicated ideas and emotions. Color is another important element in abstract composition, as artists use it to create imaginative visual experiences and sensations for the viewer.
For example, see Brian Wills and Karen Kimmel…
 Collage and Cut-Outs
Collage, from the French word coller (to glue) incorporates various two dimensional elements into one work. Collage is found in some of the most pivotal and radical practices of the twentieth century including Cubism, Dada, and Surrealism, to name just a few. Not surprisingly, it has also been a long-favored form of creative play for children.
Pablo Picasso was one of the most prominent artists to use collage, and his early experimentation, in which he brought bits of the outside world (newspaper, menus, wallpaper) into the medium, expanded the possibilities of art. Artist Henri Matisse, also used collage in his stunning “cut-outs,” where colors and forms were patterned to create vibrant compositions.
For example, see Karen Kimmel…
 Text in Art
The relationship between text and image dates to the origins of each, and text is prevalent in contemporary art. We are perhaps most familiar with the combination in everyday newspapers or monumental religious imagery.
As anyone who has watched a child learn language knows, the association of a word and its meaning is as much about the exceptions as the rule. Words may expand upon or limit the meaning of an image; they may clearly direct or provocatively misdirect the viewer. Art and text have been combined in concrete poetry, performance and protest, while artists from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Barbara Kruger have used language as a core element in their art making practices.
For example, see Rebecca Katz and Karen Kimmel…
 Surrealism
Surrealism was an influential movement founded in the 1920s by a revolutionary group of artists and writers who looked to the complex working of the mind for their source of inspiration. These artists juxtaposed seemingly incongruous objects and events in an attempt to visualize the functioning of thought, and explored as well the dreamscapes of their minds. The influence of Surrealism is present today in works that explore the realm of the imaginative and the dream, reflecting the quirky potential of one’s mind to rearrange the world.
For example, see Michael Salter…
Pop
In the twentieth century, in the wake of numerous technologies that speeded and expanded our access to images and information, artists began to employ a broad spectrum of cultural imagery in their work. Pushing beyond the traditional genres of history, landscape, portrait and still life painting, artists such as Andy Warhol recognized the profound influence of film, advertising, fashion, design and celebrity in our lives and turned cultural topics into subjects for “high” art. By taking these forms out of context, Pop artists help us to see them anew.
For example, see Michael Salter…
Photography
Photography is an important medium in the realm of contemporary art. Artists employ this medium to diverse ends, ranging from questions of painting to those of social documentary, and challenging the limits of our expectations and vision along the way. Both scientific and creative, photography has been a fertile arena for considering how we see and envision our world.
For example, see Farrah Karapetian…
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