Definition of Assemblage

(noun) - As one familiar with the word "assembly" might assume, assemblage is a form of sculpture comprised of "found" objects arranged in such a way that they create a piece. These objects can be anything organic or man-made. Scraps of wood, stones, old shoes, baked bean cans and a discarded baby buggy - or any of the other 84,000,000 items not here mentioned by name - all qualify for inclusion in an assemblage. Whatever catches the artist's eye, and fits properly in the composition to make a unified whole, is fair game.

The important thing to know about assemblage is that it is "supposed" to be three-dimensional and different from collage, which is "supposed" to be two-dimensional (though both are similarly eclectic in nature and composition). But! There's a really fine, nearly invisible line between a bulky, multi-layered collage and an assemblage done in extremely shallow relief. In this large, grey area between assemb- and col-, the safest course is to take the artist's word for it.

Pronunciation:

ah·sem·blahj

Also Known As:

construction, bricolage, collage (inaccurately), sculpture

Examples:

Let's save many thousands of words here and look at some pictures of assemblages done by different artists.

• Raoul Hausmann: Mechanical Head (Spirit of Our Age), ca. 1920
• Man Ray: , 1964 (replica of 1923 original)
• Louise Nevelson: , 1957
• Meret Oppenheim: , 1936
• Kurt Schwitters: Broad Schmurchel (Breite Schmurchel), 1924
• Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination
• Robert Rauschenberg: Combines (Exhibition Image Gallery)