Definition of Assemblage - Art History Glossary

Definition of Assemblage - Art History Glossary (noun) - As one familiar with the word assembly might assume, assemblage is a form of sculpture comprised of found objects arranged in such a way that they create a piece. These objects can be anything organic or man-made. Scraps of wood, stones, old shoes, baked bean cans and a discarded baby buggy - or any of the other 84,000,000 items not here mentioned by name - all qualify for inclusion in an assemblage. Whatever catches the artists eye, and fits properly in the composition to make a unified whole, is fair game. The important thing to know about assemblage is that it is supposed to be three-dimensional and different from collage, which is supposed to be two-dimensional (though both are similarly eclectic in nature and composition). But! Theres a really fine, nearly invisible line between a bulky, multi-layered collage and an assemblage done in extremely shallow relief. In this large, grey area between assemb- and col-, the safest course is to take the artists word for it. Pronunciation: ah ·sem ·blahj Also Known As: construction, bricolage, collage (inaccurately), sculpture Examples: Lets save many thousands of words here and look at some pictures of assemblages done by different artists. Raoul Hausmann: Mechanical Head (Spirit of Our Age), ca. 1920Man Ray: , 1964 (replica of 1923 original)Louise Nevelson: , 1957Meret Oppenheim: , 1936Kurt Schwitters: Broad Schmurchel (Breite Schmurchel), 1924Joseph Cornell: Navigating the ImaginationRobert Rauschenberg: Combines (Exhibition Image Gallery)