Collage.

Lately it seems like I am constantly busy and without a moment to rest, so when considering how to go about creating a collage like this, my first thought was to try to keep the chaos to a minimum. Unfortunately, just as in my day-to-day life, I was faced with a steady flow of disarray. On the bright side, this collage represents me very well. Music, art, all around pandemonium – it is all there. Each item on the collage directly relates to me in one way or another. Be it a life changing experience or an influential person, something about it strikes a chord in me. For example, Young Life and Missouri Scholars Academy have been instrumental in making me who I am today. Although this type of art has never been my forte, I enjoyed giving this challenge a shot.

• Decisions: I began with a broad take on the subject matter outlined in the assignment’s directions, then dug deeper into what they mean in my life to choose which items to include. Everything in my collage holds some personal meaning and applies directly to a part of my life.
• Color: My collage contains a lot of reds and yellows, representing my desire to live life to the full. Blues and greens are included to show my love of the outdoors, and darker colors represent struggle, both in my life and the world today, as well as transition.
• Light: Many of the light sources in my collage show hope or excitement. Darker components, on the other hand, do not necessarily represent despair. They often show transition and growth.
• Texture: I created texture and pattern in the collage by constructing several components, each revolving around a different larger image. This helps distinguish one element from another without being distracting.
• Volume: There are light and dark sections throughout the collage that balance out the collage to give it weight.
• Line: The collage revolves around its center. Many of the lines are horizontal, however the crutches, guitars, and other more angled components give the collage more line variety and guide the viewer to specific elements.
• Space: President Obama appears to be in front of the person in the chair. In addition, the cymbal at the bottom of the collage appears to be popping out of the American flag.
• Scale: The images of Jesus, Berklee, and the Young Life logo are larger than most others in the collage as they are some of the biggest things in my life as of late. Some elements are emphasized as sections rather than individual images in order to show their importance, such as music and my friends.
• Symbolism: The flashing lights and crutches symbolize not only my bouts with injuries, but also how broken our world is and the difficulties we all face. The image of a sunset over a lake symbolizes me waving goodbye to my hometown for good – my parents just moved across the country, so it will be a long time before I see Missouri lakes again. The little girl floating while brushing her teeth represents my “Peter Pan complex” and the way I want to stay young forever. The image of the man whose mouth is made of what appear to be magazine pages symbolizes the way so many Americans chase mindless gossip and ignore everything outside tabloids and movie screens.

Subject Matter

• Me: An image of Jesus is in the center of the collage because God is the center of my life. Everything else branches out from that. I am very involved in Young Life, which flows out to the right of the collage. Young Life also attaches to my family and friends because the people I have met through the organization are not only some of my best friends, but also my second family. Music is another huge part of my life, shown to the left. I included the Treetop Clothing, Reverend guitars, Curt Mangan strings, and GHS strings logos because I am endorsed by each of those companies. I included photos from shows and from my time with my band as well. Above music are images regarding Missouri Scholars Academy. MSA was one of the biggest events in my life and I would not be half the person I am today without that experience.
• Friends and family: Unfortunately, I do not have many photos of my family. However, the few I have do a great job of showing how hilarious my family is. Well, half of it anyway. There is guitar beside my dad because he gave me one just like it when I graduated from high school. More importantly, my dad is wearing a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt. That speaks for itself. My friends are shown all over the collage – friends from home, school, MSA, music, and Young Life.
• My town, community, school: I primarily included images showing my hometown of Joplin, Missouri. These are in the bottom right hand corner. In my community, most people are big Mizzou fans and hate KU, hence the Missouri basketball photo and photo making fun of Kansas basketball’s loss in the NCAA tournament. I also included images of running, Frisbee, and ping pong here because they are regular staples in my home life. In the upper left hand corner are images representing my school. There is a leaf over Belmont’s image because this fall is my final semester at Belmont. This coming spring, I am transferring to Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, MA, as shown by the flowering trees near the harbor and the Red Sox logo. I also included a guitar and images of myself at shows because I am going to Berklee to study guitar and work toward my goals in music.
• My country: There is an American flag, an image of Barack Obama, and the cover of Stephen Colbert’s book I am America (And so Can You) at the bottom of the collage. I included Colbert’s book because I think it is a brilliant satire of American culture.
• The world today: As a college student, I am very much in a bubble as far as the rest of the world is concerned. The image of flashing lights and the crutches beside it represent the craziness in today’s world. I may be ill informed in the midst of classes and the like, but it is easy to see how big a mess our world is. I think the lights look almost like a tornado, showing the wave of struggle we all face, be it economic or otherwise. The crutches represent us all trying to get/stay on our feet.
• Art: Art has always played a large role in my life. I included the sketch of the man shouting because I love what it stands for, and I have a great deal of respect for the young man who drew it. His art has been on display at a few shows I have played, and it has been interesting to see his work. I also included a Salvador Dali painting because he is one of my favorite painters and never ceases to intrigue me. The image of the dinosaur is included because it is a very creative advertisement for my friend’s clothing company, Juice!Threads. The photograph of Edward Norton standing in front of the words “I like myself” blows my mind. One of the biggest problems we have today is our inability to appreciate ourselves for who we are. The image of the man with magazine pages for a mouth represents the frivolity and shallow mindedness of people today. The image of the little girl floating represents my “Peter Pan complex.”
• History: My grandfather was a Pearl Harbor survivor. If not for that day, my life would be completely different. Obama is also included, as well as Missouri Scholars Academy. MSA is on a smaller scale than the rest, but its effects are enormous throughout the country whether we realize it or not.