This was a surprisingly fun exercise. I had bought two popular tabloid papers on the previous weekend and started as the exercise directed by cutting up pages into different squares and rectangles. To start with, following the instructions too closely (and knowing what I was going to be doing) meant that I noticed that I was making choices and selections as I cut up pages. I felt that this was contrary to the learning objective of experiencing the influence of chance in my work. So I started to act more quickly and blindly, often making cuts through multiple pages. This gave me a much larger pile of material to work with. Some of it was not useable, but I believe the fact that I could not anticipate the results was useful.
I started on my first collage, picking random elements from the pile, and sifting through the words and imagery. I started to composite the first emerging idea, but it still felt too forced. I had an idea: if I could not detach enough by myself, then perhaps I could use an expert in how to make a game of anything - my son!
I called him over and sat him down with me at the table. I asked him to play a game with me: we had to make silly sentences or pictures using the pieces of paper. I showed him the early work I had already done, which had superimposed a female head on top of a dog. He roared with laughter and immediately saw the fun in the activity.
Together, we finished the first image. It was brilliant to work with him, and he inspired me so much to make surreal or even incongruent choices. He managed another couple of composites and left me to finish the last two. By that point, he had really helped me get into the zone. I ended up making a combination of text-oriented phrases, composite images and those a little in-between.
I think this exercise was a really interesting introduction to adding a random element. This could be used to create more finished ideas, but I really see the potential as an extension of the earlier exercises to trigger new avenues and inspiration. This could be particularly useful in those times when I feel overwhelmed, as I can submit to the randomness of the exercise itself rather than the end result. Given that I normally need an outcome to make progress, this is a welcome surprise.
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