What Involving the Collecting of theArt Assemblage they are the aesthetic values of the assembled works of art from the point of view impressed by the artists, such as the value of culture, conservation and environmental recycling. It was also found that the most important aesthetic values required in the art of assembly from the point of view of the recipients, are: the visual visual values, followed by the innovative values (creativity and originality), followed by the impact value (the effect of the work on conscience). The aesthetic values which in the art of assemblage expressly contribute to the development of awareness of artistic value between the artist and the collector. From this concept also starts the interest in this type of art, also preferred by the new generations. A record example was the awarding of the work Buffalo II (1964) by Robert Rauschenberg sold by Christie's in 2019 in New York for €69.618.900 starting from an estimate: €44.627.500 – €62.478.500.
Although the very first examples of the art of assembly come from the work of a Pablo Picasso around 1912-1914, and obviously in the form of ready-mades by Marcel Duchamp, the word in relation to the arts was not introduced until the early 50s, when one of the first “official” assemblage artists, Jean Dubuffet, have created a series of collages of butterfly wings.
In the 50s and 60s assemblage became widely used by different artists, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, for example, used cheap materials by superimposing objects to create reliefs and expressionist sculptures, earning the name of neo-Dada. In Italy, artists such as Mario Merz of the poor art movement assembled newspapers with disposable materials including earth, rags and twigs. At that time their aim was to challenge and upset the values of the contemporary art system that was being offered on the market.
Between painting and sculpture, this form of expression had to create its own definition, and so it became the art of assembling
Artistic compositions using all kinds of materials and found objects, from scraps and scraps of paper, wood, stone and much more. In fact, thethe art of assemblage is often described as a collage taken a step further, even if it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between a richly composed collage and an assemblage that is modest in the quantity of its elements.
The assembly technique has found many artists through several significant avant-garde movements of the 20th century, such as the Cubism, through the aforementioned constructions of Picasso, Dadaism, through the "merz" of Kurt Schwitters.
Furthermore, the Surrealism in the three-dimensional works of Man Ray, and obviously Neo-Dada and Arte Povera the 50s and 60s win, the period of his peek, with the revolutionary pieces of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. In 1961, the creators of assemblage were spotlighted at the Museum of Modern Art and at The Art of Assemblage exhibition curated by William C. Seitz. This exhibition helped establish assemblages as a true art form by showcasing the works of many big names.
Among the greatest assemblage artists we have Louise Nevelson
His monumental works in wood are among the most famous works ever made with this technique. Monochromatic and usually black, these room-sized pieces are formed from discarded pieces of wood that the artist allegedly received or found. As such, they help create extraordinary reliefs, providing an insight into his personal and physical history. In his works we often see the influence of Mayan ruins and stelae from Guatemala, resulting from his trip to the country in the 40s. In the 50s he also created large-scale wood sculptures in white and gold, accompanied by smaller pieces in wooden boxes, spanning movements such as Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism and Cubism.
And just to name a few: Marcel Duchamp, Armand Pierre Fernandez and Robert Rauschenberg
Il his urinal and bicycle wheel were radical, to the point of changing the way we understand art production, art exhibition and art in general. Of course we are talking about Marcel Duchamp, the arrogant inventor and one of the greatest assemblage artists in the history of art, an integral part of the art of the last century and beyond, the father of the readymade as the new, indisputable works of art. The very first work of this kind was the infamous Bicycle Wheel – a real bicycle wheel placed on a stool upside down and proclaimed art just because he said so. Unfortunately, as it was never featured for any art show, the piece has been lost.
Arman he was famous for his works made of accumulation and dispersion, among which we have the "poubelles", or "garbage bins". Like Jean Tinguely, he was a fan of destruction, but for him it also meant creating something new. And so, the artist often burned, sliced and smashed his own assemblage art and objects, bronze statues and musical instruments, to then mount them on a canvas later, notably in his works Coupes and Colères. The "Poubelles", on the other hand, were collections of common and identical objects arranged inside polyester fusions or Plexiglas cases. Arman had a great relationship with Andy Warhol, for example, having appeared in the documentary Dinner at Daley, while his pop icon owned two of his 'Poubelles', which were auctioned off in 1988.
Rauschenberg he is known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artworks that incorporated everyday objects as art materials and that blurred the distinctions between painting and sculpture. Rauschenberg was both a painter and a sculptor, but also worked in photography, printmaking, papermaking and performance art.
Cover: Pablo Picasso, Still life with stuffed chair, 1912
