Cut Paste: 21st-Century Collage

In the digital age, the original meaning of cut and paste has been replaced with a few clicks of a mouse, This has led to a lot of derivative and unimaginative computer produced work. In response to this, artists have returned to using more traditional methods of making images. There has been a resurgence of drawing and illustration and collage has recently been rediscovered. Collage is the natural progression of illustration, as it combines drawing with the other mediums. It is the fusing of methods that makes for a new language. Increasingly, collage is being used in ads, magazine editorials, fashion spreads, street art, album covers, animation and websites: from the Prada Menswear Spring Summer 09 invitation (Milan) to the editorial of Butt Magazine, from Brahma beer poster campaigns featuring the work of Brazilian artists such as Speto and Giga to posters for the Tate Gallery. The surreal juxtaposition of images provokes thought, humour and understanding, two-dimensional images become three.