collage

col·lage

noun \kə-ˈläzh, kȯ-, kō-\

Definition of COLLAGE

1

a : an artistic composition made of various materials (as paper, cloth, or wood) glued on a surface

b : a creative work that resembles such a composition in incorporating various materials or elements <the album is a collage of several musical styles>

2

: the art of making collages

3

: hodgepodge <a collage of ideas>

4

: a work (as a film) having disparate scenes in rapid succession without transitions

— collage transitive verb

— col·lag·ist \-ˈlä-zhist\ noun

Examples of COLLAGE

1. We made collages in art class.
2. an artist known for her use of collage
3. The album is a collage of several musical styles.

Origin of COLLAGE

French, literally, gluing, from coller to glue, from colle glue, from Vulgar Latin *colla, from Greek kolla

First Known Use: 1919

Related to COLLAGE

Synonyms

agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, miscellany, crazy quilt, farrago, gallimaufry, grab bag, gumbo, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jambalaya, jumble, jungle, litter, macédoine, medley, mélange, menagerie, miscellanea, mishmash, mixed bag, montage, motley, muddle, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, pastiche, patchwork, patchwork quilt, potpourri, ragbag, ragout, rummage, salad, salmagundi, scramble, shuffle, smorgasbord, stew, tumble, variety, welter

Related Words

detritus, notions, oddments, odds and ends, sundries; accumulation, aggregate, aggregation, conglomerate, conglomeration; catchall; admixture, alloy, amalgam, blend, combination, commixture, composite, compound, fusion, intermixture, mix-up; bollix, chaos, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, dog's breakfast [chiefly British], mess, morass, muddle, shambles; imbroglio, knot, snarl, tangle

Other Fine Arts Terms

Gothic, baroque, bas-relief, limn, oeuvre, pastiche, rococo, sfumato

Rhymes with COLLAGE

barrage, corsage, dislodge, garage, hodgepodge, Karaj, massage, swaraj

collage

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

(from French coller, “to glue”) Pictorial technique of applying printed or found materials (e.g., newspaper, fabric, wallpaper) to a flat surface, often in combination with painting. Long popular as a pastime for children and amateurs, it was first given serious attention as an art technique by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in 1912–13. Many other 20th-century artists produced collages, including Juan Gris, Henri Matisse, Joseph Cornell, and Max Ernst. In the 1960s collage was employed as a major form of Pop art, exemplified in the work of Robert Rauschenberg.