RON HENGGELER

July 18, 2020
Collages from 1984

Part 1

I recently opened a box of collages that I've kept in storage for 36 years. The 270 collages in this box, each measuring 18 by 26 inches, are from 1984. For three months that year, I had a one-man show of these panels hanging at the Clarion Cafe on Mission Street in San Francisco. For the show, I wallpapered most of the cafe's interior, from floor to ceiling, with these panels of collage.

The passage of time has not been kind to these paper collages. Foxing, which is an age-related process of deterioration that causes spots and browning on old paper, has taken a heavy toll on many of the panels. This damage is especially prevelent on the panels that were assembled with rubber cement, rather than wheat paste, or wallpaper paste.

Last month, I photographed the entire collection of the collages. I am now working on them in Photoshop to salvage and repair as much as possible.

The paper originals are destined to deteriorate even more as time goes by. These photos may be all that remain of them someday.

Here's the first photo batch of the "saved"collages.

I've added the black frames in Photoshop. The paper originals are frameless.

 

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