John Stezaker

This is an artist recommended to me by many a peer, and I can see why. admittedly not for the pieces themselves, but for the concept, thought and progression involved to create them. It is widely known that Stezaker spends an immense amount of time on choosing the perfect set of images to go together, deliberating over days, weeks, months, to find the specific image necessary to accomplish his goals. This tiresome and often gruelling regime is one of which I cannot replicate necessarily myself, however the hours that I put into the exact image choice and arrangement of the collages that I create is one I like to believe is an above acceptable amount. Needless to say the amount of time spent on the collages that I now create is above and beyond requirements, however the efforts make them subtle differences that truely transform a piece.
Stezaker's work is bold, clear-cut, definitive and I like it for what it is, however I believe it reminds me too much of minimalism in the context of a collaged portrait, and though I may take safety in the knowledge of the time and effort spent on his collages as I spend on mine, the works shant necessarily influence my style, the disfunctional relationships I configure between the various pieces within my collages are much more appropriate to my needs. Suffice to say, I still respect and admire the works below.

www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/john-stezaker