Impulses In Materials: Travis Hummingbird

To contact us Click HERE

Author: Heather Eck (OVAC Intern)

Travis Hummingbird, Making, 2011, Collage on Paper, 12" x 8"

Tulsa artist Travis Hummingbird combines magazines, photocopiesand many different items to form his masterpieces that are collages. His Concept/OK Survey exhibition piece, Making,gives us evidence of his ability to mix the simplest of media to create a piecethat is profound and thought provoking.
Hummingbird did not always know this collaging technique, or “decollaging”so to speak. His research of this technique gave way to an exploration initself, which is where Making foundits niche. Hummingbird further informed me of his Concept/OK work and the intent behind it.       Q: What do you wantyour piece to inform its viewers?TH: I hesitate to say that the work"informs" anything, certainly nothing specific.  Makingdoes not have a set meaning behind it, but if it has a primary topic, it wouldbe on an individual's act of creating something,anything.
Watching a one-time coworker draw and my own enjoyment inthe art-making process played roles in the making of this work,but I'm not eager to fence in the viewer's interpretation and solelyfocus on that.  My initial drive to create may arise from specificimpulses, but my main interest lies with creating something moreopen-ended, something that the viewer can question. 
I realize that thisstance can seem noncommittal, but I would rather risk that than limit artworkto a strict interpretation.  (That said, even given the loose manner inwhich the work was formed, I want it to be read beyond a purelyformal interpretation.) 
Q: Do you normally work in collage or are you drawn to othermediums? TH: Working in collage is a change ofpace for me.  I've kept scrapbooks of newspaper and magazine images andarticles for years but infrequently attempt to create art solely from what Ifind. Drawing takes up more of my practice. The black and whitefigure in the collage is a remnant of a photocopy from a comic strip I drew ina sketchbook. One of the advantages in this process, I've learned, isthat it provides another way to salvage disappointing work. 
Q: What materials went into the creation of this piece?TH: Magazine pages, black and whitephotocopies, a color photocopy with acrylic ink painted ontop, glue sticks, and Yes paste. 

The Concept/OK: Art in Oklahoma exhibition welcomes to the public through February 16, 2013  at the new Tulsa Arts and Humanities Council’s Hardesty Arts Center. Admission is free of charge. See www.concept-ok.org for more information.