History and Origin of Collage:

Collage is an old French word meaning stick and paste down. A collection of different things is generally referred to as “Collage”. Collage is a work of art that is made by attaching different materials together. At first, collage was originally used after the invention of paper in china around 200B.C Collage then became a bit more popular in Japan (10th century) when calligraphers began to apply sticky paper using texts on surfaces while writing their poems. The collage technique then appeared during the 13th century in medieval Europe, where golden leaf panels were applied in Gothic cathedrals around the 15th and 16th centuries. Also gemstones and other precious metals were applied to religious images and icons. The use of collage in the art medium dates back to the 18th century when the flower artist Mary Delany invented the paper mosaic which is also known as the plant collage method which involved cutting out leaves from colored paper then gluing them back onto black-paper backgrounds. Dadaists and Surrealists of the 20th century loved collage, specifically torn-paper collage which is a process where torn pieces of paper are randomly dropped onto a background sheet covered with glue, which they named as the free-associative art making. The general idea was to allow the unmitigated emotional and subconscious expression, and is therefore freed from the tyranny of the conscious mind in control, interpreting and reading the finished image. A lot of artists have worked with collage in the past years including Michael Snow, Kurt Schwitters, Greg Curnoe, Pablo Picasso, Sorel Etrog and Joyce Wieland all created collage artworks. Some authorities argue that collage did not emerge until the 1900s, in alliance with the early stages of modernism. According to the Guggenheim Museum, collage is an artistic concept associated with the beginning of modernism, and involves much more than the idea of gluing something on something else. Other forms of collage different than paper collage exist, including paint collage, wood collage, digital collage, 3 dimensional collage, and mosaic. Collage also existed in other contexts including music, illustration, and Architecture.

Application of Collage in Architecture:

Collage = Space + Materials ; Space + Materials = Architecture ∴ Collage = ArchitectureWhen collage is applied in architecture a whole new understanding of the built space and the way we interact with it opens up. There are two types of collage, generative collage and constructed collage. Generative collage most frequently follows the artistic definitions of papers and other materials as applied to a given canvas (two dimensional). It can generate architectural thinking. On the other hand constructive collage is examined in terms of architecture; constructed collages are a result of the application of a collage mentality, a collage process where the spaces created are experienced and not just viewed. Constructed collages involve material layering and spatial layering that creates a collage in the sense of a space rather than in the sense of an object. Collage in architecture acts as a tool for analysis and design. Collage provides a medium in architecture that captivates sensory and spatial perception. As collage has evolved it brings with it a number of

dialectics, including representational/abstract, gestural/precise, texture/image, surface/depth, and literal/metaphorical, all of which are considered within the methodologies of art and architecture. Some of the architects that used the collage technique as an integral part of their design process are Allison and Peter Smithson, Ray and Charles Eames, and Le Corbusier. They used collage as a means of representation of their work, (as a computer rendering of the character of a space). They also considered collage as an equivalent to the practice of sketching. There are also different types of collages in the world of architecture, such as, a collage between different architectural styles from all over the world where architects can make a collage of different styles in the same house or project they are working on. For example, allowing traditional and modern architectural styles to coexist in the same time and place (in the same city, or even in the same building). Also some cities act as a great example of collage.

Example and Analysis:

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I think that Beirut as a whole embodies the meaning of the world “collage” since Beirut is a city that witnessed a lot of different cultures that visited its land for some time in the past (Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader and Ottoman remains). That’s why we can notice a vast difference in architectural styles in this city. Not to mention that Beirut was also affected by the contemporary architectural style. Beirut as a whole acts as a collage of successive architectural styles, a collage that shows the different cultures that accumulated in Beirut throughout its history. While wandering on the streets of Beirut people can easily notice this from the diversity that ranges from different architectural styles used.  By analyzing the urban form in the city of Beirut, which is somehow considered to be aesthetically successful and examining its actually existing urban structure as found, reveals Beirut as the end product of a constant process of fragmentation, collision, superimposition, contamination of many diverse ideas are forced on it by successive generations, with each generation having its own idea. This can be noticed due to the presence of numerous mosques, and churches. So as collage is a collection of different things, and attaching different materials together to form a new whole, I believe that the collection of all these cultures and the attachment of their different styles and beliefs in this city are considered a collage. In a collage the artists use different materials, colors, and textures in order to create something new that attracts the eye of

the observer but still, if the observer looked closely he could recognize the different material used that lead to the final outcome. This is the case with Beirut, where by looking at it as a whole, it appears to be like an ordinary city, but if we look closely to the elements that form this city (buildings, temples, churches, mosques etc…) we will realize the different styles used and thus understand that this city is a multicultural city. Thus by just observing it closely, one could understand the history of this city. Therefore, Beirut acts as a perfect example of collage.

References:Collage <--> Architecture by Nicole A. MartinCollage City by Fred Koetter and Collin Rowe