Collaboration
An art collaboration is a single art piece or project completed by multiple artists with each artist making a contribution. It means that the responsibility of the project is shared and different skills can be introduced from each person. When artists work together, they promote each other on their respective organic as well as digital channels which helps them both grow their reach. Collaborations have been a way to create larger impact, through involving more people and hence pooling in the best of ideas, thoughts and skills. There are many examples of this throughout history.
A successful collaboration example is the famous love story and the coming together of abstract expressionists Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. Jasper Johns came up with the word combine that’s widely used to describe Rauschenberg’s technique of incorporating everyday objects like fabric, newspaper cut-out, furniture and even animal carcasses into his abstract paintings. They both largely influenced each others work in the 1950’s, had a noticeably similar style and brought the best out of each other in the studio. They collaborated in various art projects including window displays for New York department stores and designs for publications and corporate clients. Johns slow, repetitive style collided with Rauschenberg’s spontaneous, excited energy to create masterpieces of mainly flags and target symbols which became massively well known in America. Their work raises questions such as ‘Is it a flag or Painting?’ and ‘Does it represent national pride and freedom or imperialism and aggression?’ Unfortunately, a lot of their collaboration artwork didn’t survive or wasn’t discovered until later on in their lifetime.
References
Ballantyne-Way, D., 2017. Fineartmultiple. [Online]
Available at: https://fineartmultiple.com/blog/jasper-johns-robert-rauschenberg-relationship/
[Accessed 23 March 2021].
Delayla, S., 2017. Dextra. [Online]
Available at: https://blog.dextra.art/why-collaboration-is-the-way-to-grow-as-an-artist-58f17bc4e918
[Accessed 23 March 2021].
Rodriguez, C. E., 2021. Expo Collective. [Online]
Available at: http://www.expocollective.com/articles/the-power-of-collaboration-in-art/
[Accessed 23 March 2021].