Diary of a Madman - 75 

Andre Lanskoy created "Diary of a Madman - 75" using cut paper applied to a dark background. The process of collage is immediate, more like sketching than painting; Lanskoy seems to have embraced this spontaneity. The work’s impact comes from the contrast of the matte paper against the black ground. The shapes are simple, almost childlike, yet carefully arranged. The largest form is a straight white line, leading the eye upward to a circle of red and blue paper fragments. It resembles a lollypop, or perhaps a highly abstracted flower, with an odd geometric shape hovering above. Lanskoy used a very limited palette and simple techniques to achieve a powerful visual effect. Collage emerged as a high art form in the early 20th century, in part because it blurred the lines between "fine art" and "craft." It is important to remember that materials, making, and context contribute to our understanding of an artwork, and helps question the traditional boundaries between art and craft.