I'm a Cutter...

[VoteAudrey]

I have a confession. I collect ephemera for two main reasons. First, I save 50's (and sometimes other) era invitations and note cards for possible future use. If I marry and breed, I've got some killer baby shower invites stored for use. It's reason enough to procreate, really. Secondly, I like to cut. A pair of Fiskars, ye olde X-acto, one of my razor-sharp fingernails...it matters not. I like to cut up paper. And I'm sorry if you now hate me.

From the standpoint of someone who appreciates bygone eras, nostalgia and random beauty found in the odd stamped rail ticket, I can recognize something that needs to be left "as-is." Of course, most of this visual assessment comes from myself, so I figure there may be a possibility that I cut into the uncuttable gem. This is just one of many reasons I'd like to study more on ephemera: to avoid desecrating a gold mine.

What I do cut gets a second chance at life via a recycled, reused, reincarnation. My little mixed-media art assemblages are generally witty, sometimes profound, and usually pretty nice. Every now and again, I make a error in clipping and snipping, and my whack job ends up serving as confetti but fear not, as even that gets used. Waste not, want not.

Many times, I score some worn out books from a Goodwill and snip freely. Occasionally, I find something and have an inkling it's a treasure, so it gets put on a shelf for further study and future admiration. I check out eBay for bulk lots and weed out what seems super special for my own selfish saving and clip other pieces for reborn creations.

Do I deserve to put in ephemera exile? Am I violating cultural laws of preservation? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[VoteAudrey]

Paul - My, you all are an egalitarian bunch! Glad to see I won't be stoned. I'll have to post some of my collages and get some feedback as well. For better or worse :)

[VoteAudrey]

Frank - From working with architects, I've learned that *almost* nothing is sacred. It is the rare building that gets preserved as is; more oft, it's remodeled 30 years down the road for "reuse" as a completely different type of facility. Some designers feel that makes part of there work less meaningful, less permanent, while others see it as just tossing it into the fray, knowing it will likely transform. A lot of design features get chopped on the construction end for cost savings, so it really is never the exact vision but "looks good on paper." This excludes the glamorous "starchitects," but as in much of life, there's only so many that actually get acclaim for their work. On that long-winded note, it's not repurposed because it is lost its purpose. It is repurposed to better serve the needs of the repurposer. (new vocabulary! ha)

[VoteAudrey]

Mike - Thanks for chiming in! I never thought about anything I made becoming part of a future collection. What a very strange thought! (at least to me). I do think about what I would leave behind if I died, how much of a mess it would be as I am a very messy lady. Not dirty, just untidy, but there is some structure to it all.

[Paul Batchelor]

"My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts." Charles Darwin

I think you need to follow the beat of your own drum. We all collect for different reasons and if this is what makes your collection you...than do it. Public opinion doesnt even come into the equation. I like to collect whole pieces and preserve them the best I can. Thats me but Im not going to throw verbal stones at another for not following the same vibe. That would make the world a boring place.

[Frank DeFreitas]

Mike has a very good point, and one that I had not given much thought to: that the mixed media that is created through cutting will become ephemera itself someday. Therefore, perhaps one could assume that ephemera is much like energy itself: it cannot be created, nor can it be destroyed (other than throwing it into a fire, perhaps).

I've seen several terms used to describe the practice, such as "re-purposing" -- as if the ephemera had lost its purpose until someone discovered it, came to its rescue, and gave it the breath of new life. That's a little bit too super-hero for me. Perhaps transitional ephemera would be a more properly descriptive term of the practice, since there's no telling if, one day in the far future, it will go through yet another transition with a new artist.

For me, in my particular work, I need to save "as is". But there are some pieces in this field that are so common, that putting them through a transition would do little to change the course of history.

Bottom line . . . enjoy what you're doing. And I vote that you're welcome around here regardless.

[Mike Ferguson]

This is a topic of some debate and I think you will find opinions run the gamut. Our friends in the archival community might cringe, and then there are many like you who feel they are giving things a new lease on life. There are fundamentalist and liberal theologians on this question. I myself tend to practice situational ethics. I have found 100 year old magazines that were in such a dilapidated state and literally eating themselves alive that I decided the parts, in good condition, were better than the sum in bad. Generally, I will collect and preserve.

I'm not sure you'll find a consensus. One thing I do know for sure. The mixed media you are creating, if it is mostly paper, will be collectible ephemera to someone someday.