The Definition of Irony
In the past weeks when I mentioned I was making collages as materials to use in other collages, these are those other collages. Ironically, of the 5 collages used in these, only 2 have been shown on d’Arteboard. All of these are 8.5″ x 11″, mixed media.
Along with the collages, there are also quilts and sewn paintings among the materials that went into these. Those that contain no representation but the formula “A ≠ A” are presented in landscape, while any piece set into a collage with portrait alignment was kept that way so that the intrusion would be more apparent. If it’s still not apparent, though, I’m fine with that.
Now would be a good time to post an artist’s statement for these, but I’m afraid I haven’t written it yet. I may try to write it once I’m better caffeinated, though. I’ll post an update at the top if I do. After the jump, 7 more.
-JD
August 9, 2011 at 12:18 pm
What does A “is not equal to” A mean?
August 9, 2011 at 5:46 pm
“A is not equal to A” is a logical contradiction, the opposite of “A = A” which is a logical truism.
In literature, “irony” is when a word is used to mean it’s opposite. The simplest form of this would be sarcasm. This definition can be expanded to refer to any time a word is used to represent something other than itself though, such as a metaphor (technically this is known as “figurative language,” of which irony is itself one example). In this sense irony is a critical tool
So it is on one hand a pure illogical statement, and on the other hand it’s vital artistic tool. The specific intent elaborates on these themes, but I’m still not sure exactly how to phrase it.
August 16, 2011 at 2:08 pm
[...] the end of a project like last week’s I feel good and productive. That feeling may lead me to want to finish something else quickly to [...]
August 30, 2011 at 2:44 pm
[...] recent series of collages (and works based upon them) is an attempt to exaggerate that relationship to the breaking point. Each piece is [...]