Interview

Written By Editorial Team

Gerard Lange

Trained in the areas of sculpture, drawing and painting, and photography, Gerard Lange also studied book arts and papermaking in Italy. In 1996, Lange began keeping a collage journal that served as resource guide and repository of visual narratives. Every year since, he has composed an artist journal in text and images that functions like a collage novel. The collection of books is an autobiographic encyclopedia of his life (artistic and otherwise) and is accompanied by an extensive collection of bound appendices. Despite working in a variety of mediums, Lange considers his art journals his most personal work.

 

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I’ve been an artist just about as long as I can remember. When I was a child, anytime my parents took the family somewhere I had to be patient, they gave me a pad of paper and pencil so I could draw. Generally speaking, as long as I was drawing, I could spend any amount of time anywhere. In college, I earned a triple-emphasis in my art major: sculpture, drawing and painting, and photography. My third year there I started keeping an art journal to be an image resource file that also served as inspiration for upcoming projects. Some of my interest was in filmmaking and each journal spread was intended to represent as a complete story waiting to be written. After spending a summer studying book arts and papermaking in Italy, I began to overlay collage imagery with text, drawings, and the like. Every year since 1996, I’ve made an art journal that functions like a collage novel, perhaps an autobiography, of my creative life.”

What inspires you?

“Everything. Literally, there is nothing that I do not find interesting. Inspiration can come from nature, a piece of music, or simply watching people wait at the DMV. I’m seldomly ever bored and think that taking an interest in something is merely a matter of choice. Sure, there are some things that one might be more prone to enjoying than others, but I choose to look at the world with a sense of wonder. It might be a little cliche, but I’ve been a student all my life. I love learning and exploring topics, pouring myself into them. In truth, learning might be my biggest inspiration. The more I learn about a topic, the more I want to know. Then, I try to form connections between different ideas; to see not only the obvious ways they relate, but also the surprising and unexpected ways they interact with one another.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“Sometimes, journals are specifically themed around an event. My 2019 art journal, Book 22: Prague, Praha, Prag, was specific to a trip to the Czech Republic. In 2021, Book 24: Cork, Not Cork documented a trip to Ireland. But, other art journals are more spontaneously generated, following a stream of consciousness over a period of time. At this point, a little fewer than half of the journals are specifically themed, and the rest feature a variety of subjects. That said, all of the journals are deeply rooted in dementia and the loss of memory. Several generations in my family have suffered from dementia and I’ve lived my life with the knowledge that one day, I might not know myself and my own past. The art journals have become a documentation of my life, not just as an artist, but life in general. Hence, some journals are specific whereas some have broad subjects within a single volume. It just depends on the various seasons of my life. When I was 10 years old I had the startling realization that we are all dying - every moment of life is a moment closer to death. I knew then and there that I wanted to learn as much as I could and have as many different life experiences as possible.”

How would you describe your work?

“Clearly, the work has the visual aesthetic of multi-layered collage composed of original photographs, images gleaned from the pages of magazines, and text that includes my own original thoughts, but also notes on the studies of various topics, and everyday items of necessity, such as grocery lists. Since each year brings with it another volume, the growing collection began to resemble a set of encyclopedias. Therefore, I decided to make a set of accompanying appendices: maps, my dirt collection, a catalog of my work in other mediums, and many other things. Despite being self-centric, the work is in no way self-centered or narcissistic. Some art journals have been entirely about other people. I’ve been a professor for over 20 years and some journals have been used as literal lesson plans for classes.”

Which artists influence you most?

“Right after I started making journals in the mid-1990’s, I was introduced to the work of Peter Beard. His journals were highly influential on my work. At the same time, I also was introduced to Max Ernst’s collage novel, Une Semaine de Bonté, published in 1934. My work, like his, was steeped in the idea that everyday imagery could be reinterpreted into fantastical stories. These two individuals’ work has been tied up in my own since I began making art journals nearly 30 years ago. Beyond journals, I draw influences from Vincent Van Gogh’s textures, Imogen Cunningham’s compositions, Pablo Picasso’s philosophic way he approached making art, and the overall aesthetic sensibilities of Hiroshi Yoshida’s woodblock prints. I’d be remiss in not also mentioning photographer Harry Callahan who said, and I’ll paraphrase, that he didn’t intend on being a great photographer, but instead intended to live a great life and take pictures while living it.”

“In truth, learning might be my biggest inspiration. The more I learn about a topic, the more I want to know.”

What is your creative process like?

“Collecting bits and bobs, scraps of paper, ephemera, and the like is always where my work begins. I’ve got droves of collage materials sorted by theme in a file cabinet that I can pull from when making a work. Next is observation - often coupled with the collection process, especially when it concerns information. Like artists in the Romantic period, I separate the experience from the art-making about the experience. I’ll take photographs and make notes in situ, but I seldom make work in the field. More practically, I work up a composition by laying down background patterns and textures in various media. On top of that surface, I’ll scumble some gesso or paint. Several layers later, I’ll have worked up a sufficient ground on which to make the collage. Typically, I’ll have a theme in mind for the page spread and will have pulled more collage material that I will need. Some piece of visual material will serve as a primary figure, then secondary and tertiary imagery will be laid in around it. Text is nearly always inscribed at the end, and when doing so, I like for every spread to have three different kinds of letterforms. Over the years, I’ve developed around a dozen different ways to inscribe text in an art journal - different printing and cursive-writing styles - and have nearly as many sets of ink stamp alphabets in different fonts. Considering that books are meant to be read, or at least thumbed through, I’ll always carry over something from one spread to the next in order to create a sense of cohesion.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“One of my teachers, quoting his teacher, said ‘artists are philosophers who make things.’ An artist’s role in society is to bear witness to the world around them and respond to it as they themselves see fit whether it be realism, abstract, or something in between. The creative process is not unlike writing or composing in that way. Artists simply develop a visual language using the tools and techniques of their medium to author their interpretation of things. That personal interpretation is what sets apart the art made by an individual and work generated by AI. Whether or not an AI can make work (beyond a person inputting prompts), it cannot make a work that an artist might make themself. Of course AI one day might be an original author, but that authorship does not invalidate or replace living authors.”

Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?

“My work in a variety of mediums has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally. Several photographs were exhibited with the Royal Photographic Society in England and my collage work was featured on the cover of UCLA Magazine.”

 
Editorial Team
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