Megan Coyle’s still life collages are what initially inspired me. I immediately took to her artist’s statement, various interviews, and the art itself. Coyle’s art has a childlike essence, yet the meanings of the pieces are far deeper, with the dissection of emotions, experiences, and life itself.
I approached the homage to still life assignment with a collage. The still life began with no expectations, and I feel that this mindset allowed it to come together naturally. I enjoy the abstract components of the overall piece, and I feel that this project offers a different perceptive as to what a still life can be given the spunky nature of collages.
After researching Coyle further, I wanted to ensure that I did my own creative twist on her artwork. Rather than using small clippings of color, I wanted to minimalize the outcome of my version by simplifying the shapes and making the pictures of the clippings recognizable. By doing this, there is a visual richness that alternates between the images sourced and the overall composition.
I composed this project knowing that I wanted a black “table” complemented by a colorful background. In the foreground, I made the fruit with whole images that were overlapped with one or two other snippets of others. I wanted to continue this chain of abstract thinking and decided that it would be fun to play with nature by using my own interpretations. Can you pick out what is unnatural?