Technique
Assemblage
A three-dimensional form of collage in which found or made objects are combined into a new work.
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Understanding the term
The materials' former uses and associations often remain present in an assemblage. Their combination can therefore create meaning through contrast: the ordinary becomes unfamiliar, and boundaries between sculpture, image and everyday object begin to blur.
When Assemblage is given as a technique, it describes the process that created the work's impression, structure or surface. Technique and subject are distinct: very different images can be made using the same method.
The process can often be read in edges, lines, layers and surface. It can also explain natural variation between examples and offer useful evidence about workflow, edition and appropriate care.
Related entries
Continue through the glossary with terms from the same field.