Cutting Circles into Rectangles

For the past two years I’ve forced myself to make collages in almost the same way. I did this to see how things might change over time, and although they have, this process has gotten a little stale. The process I’m referring to here, are my paper collages, mostly blocky, mostly leaning on old and rotting paper. Since I’ve done things in this way for so long, the process takes little to no time, or even thought. It’s almost an assembly line of image making. I have so many of them that I’ve stopped scanning all but the larger ones. It’s been fun, but I’ve been feeling the need to change for some months.

The main problem I had with them, is that they were almost exclusively rectangle. A rectangle is a fine and generous shape, but it wasn’t keeping my interest. In each collage was a face, maybe a short phrase or sentence, and a lot of squares and small rectangles positioned around. One in ten I thought was good, which isn’t a bad average. Since I’m a mail-artist, I mail everything instead of staring over, a process that can sometimes inhabit growth. I don’t look at a subpar image and say to myself, “Toss it,” instead I say “Mail it.” Considering what I often get from folks, I doubt anyone can tell the difference. I always send something original, something worked. Never do I send images torn from an old Cosmopolitan magazine. Sorry, I had to get in a slight there. Original and ok, instead of effortless and subpar, is fine by me.

I forced myself to change things up.

I wanted to start with my well-worn process, and then try and subvert it. I made the usual rectangles but then I cut into long pieces, short pieces, and into shapes from various tools sitting on my desk. With the pieces, I fixed them into shapes, using the negative space of the cardboard backing to make a more dynamic creation. While this is nothing new to the world of collage (who cares?) it was new to me. In my mind, I was thinking about those Hans Arp chance paintings, but you know…with things touching. What ended coming out looked like the 1920’s to me, someone like Braque, less dynamic but at least similar in tone.

I really leaned into “messing up” the pieces that I had put together. What I made was quite different than what I had been making, which excited me. I have a new path forward, at least for a little while. When I looked at what I had created I wasn’t indifferent like I so often am, I was excited about the possibilities of what I could add to future creations.

Below are four images. I posted the image first, and then commented on what I see in the creation. Nothing like a fun writing exercise to keep the image making mind moving.  

 

In this first image, I’m really focusing on the little one’s eye. The baby is off to the right, and not the center of the piece. It’s not the whole face. There’s two circles of varying sizes in the image. Off to the far left is a circle that has been removed, this is my favorite part. In this collage I can really see the scrapes across the old pieces of paper. Anything that looks old, looks like it is deteriorating is always more interesting to me than something that’s bright and shiny and new. For years, I’ve been trying to get this effect in my work. For this effect, I used something that looks like a toothbrush with metal bristles. No idea how it appeared on my desk or what it’s supposed to be used for. 

 

The second image is solid. It’s slightly larger than the first, 8x10. What I like about this is exactly what I started to hate about all of my old collages, this one has movement. The lines are going in every direction. There’s no real focus here, at least not in the overall image. What I see second are the original collages that I made and then cut up. There’s an old picture from Ebert Street in there. There’s an old Winston-Salem postmark at the top. In the center are a couple line drawings that I cut out of an antique children’s book from the 1950’s. Around that image are a bunch of pieces of heavy paper I spray-painted years ago and stuck in a disused corner of my garage. Technically, it’s taken years for this image to take shape. That big black circle, the one in the top right, came from a Life magazine in the 1960’s. There’s something about cheap paper that’s magical. High gloss magazines are almost impossible for me to work with. The paper is too heavy, the color is bound to the paper. I’m always looking for the look of a fading billboard on the side of a disused highway.

 

The red is the true winner in this one. It’s bright enough to give personality to the composition, but worked enough to have it blend in with everything else. This “blending” is something that “distressing” the images helps. If your collage comes from a lot of different sources and decades, everything from magazines, coloring books, books, then the paper and ink quality is going to be different. Sometimes these differences can cause a composition to clash. When you take a wire brush or metal device to clashing images, you bring them together through negation. For this one, the destruction is tying the collage together. There’s some blue crayon in there too.

 

The last one is my least favorite. It’s the most like what I’ve done for the past couple of years. What we have here is a rectangle collage made of parts from the same source. I assume this is from an old magazine considering how the scrapes cut into the paper. The man image is a man’s face, with a woman’s face beside of his, and then two sets of arms on the bottom of the collage. What makes this look different from what I normally create, are the two breaks. In the top right I have punched out a couple circles and replaced them with smaller ones. The middle replacement, has a lot of little pieces in it. From what I can tell, that middle circle has seven different pieces of paper in it. The size of the circle is a nickel. There’s some stuff there, some things to look at in a tiny space. There’s only two pieces of paper making up that top replacement circle, the main being some old construction paper. The square on the far left is covered in some blue ink I normally use for rubber stamps. I should have rubbed out more of that ink. It’s an ok image, nothing I’ll keep.

Moving forward, I’m going to continue working this process. Maybe I work this method until I get completely bored with it? I’m excited again.

All 70 Solo Magnet Shows

 Solo Magnet Shows List

This is the list of all the solo magnet shows. These are a collection of mini artworks with magnets attached to them and then stuck in random spots.

Solo Magnet Shows

1.     2760 Peter’s Creek Parkway Winston Salem North Carolina 27103 USA – Posted July 3^rd, 2023. Notes – The first show happened on the seat of a small bus station.

2.     34 Miller Street Winston Salem North Carolina 27104 USA – Posted July 4^th, 2023. Notes – I stuck the magnets to a napkin dispenser at a Starbuck’s inside of a Publix grocery store.

3.     211 East Third Street Winston Salem North Carolina 27101 USA – Posted July 6^th, 2023. Notes – Instead of paying for parking, I left some things in their parking lot.

4.     3500 Duncan Street Columbia South Carolina 29205 USA – Posted July 11^th, 2023. Notes – Miles and Misty went to play at the local splash pad, and I went walking around the small park looking for places to stick the magnets.

5.     1801 Canal Drive Carolina Beach North Carolina 28428 USA – Posted July 17^th, 2023. Notes – An hour after putting up the show, I watched a guy come change the trash bag, read the description of the art show, and then take the Richard Nixon magnet.

6.     415 S Hawthorne Rd. Winston-Salem North Carolina 27103 USA – Posted July 18^th, 2023. Notes – I was going to the grocery store to get food, so I thought I would stick some magnets to the base of a light post.

7.     2050 Chapel Hill Rd, Durham, North Carolina 27707 USA – Posted August 4^th, 2023. Notes - I stuck the magnets to a metal goat. I think it was a goat.

8.     4118 Spring Garden St, Greensboro, North Carolina 27407 USA – Posted August 4^th, 2023. Notes – The broadside of a green dumpster is a great place to have an art show.

9.     Riverside Dr, Asheville, North Carolina 28801 USA – Posted August 18^th, 2023. Curated By Rebecca Hutchinson Bodenheimer Notes – The first curated show down by the river in beautiful Asheville.

10.  5 Lawyers Row, Staunton, Virginia 24401 USA – Posted August 18^th, 2023. Curated by Diana Hale Notes – Diana said she put the magnets up on Friday, no one from the government would see them, and take them down.

11.  Route 21 Riverside Drive, Gurnee, Illinois 60031 USA- Posted August 23^rd, 2023. Curated by Bonniediva Detweiler Shorr – Notes – Bonniediva stuck the show to a metal thing jutting out of the ground.

12.  Davidson Street, Thomasville, North Carolina 27360 USA – Posted August 24^th, 2023. Notes – While putting up the show, I was mildly alarmed by the people hanging out in the nearby parking lot. I moved quickly. I left the magnets on the side of a broken-down short bus.

13.  1317 Winston Rd. Lexington, North Carolina 27295 USA – Posted August 25^th, 2023. Notes – For the past year, the city has been tearing down building after building on this road. The spot I put this magnet show on was once home to one of the most famous barbecue restaurants in Lexington.

14.  145 Elizabeth St. New York, New York 10012 USA – Posted August 27^th, 2023. Curated by Alexis Adams – Notes – The show was posted in a line and directly above an impressive lock.

15.  223 Grand Ave. South San Francisco, CA 94080 USA – Posted August 31^st, 2023. Curated by Eric Wheeling – Notes – Eric posted the magnet show at his job, inside a vegan restaurant.

16.  890 Main St. Boise, Idaho 83702 USA – Posted September 9^th, 2023. Curated by Alanna Meltzer-Holderfield – Notes – The colors of the magnets popped against a green newspaper rack.

17.  297 DCCC Rd. Thomasville, North Carolina 27360 USA – Posted September 14^th, 2023. – Notes – I stuck the magnets to my co-worker’s car. I put them in a position I thought he wouldn’t notice before he left work. He saw them.

18.  N.W. 25^th Marshall St. Porland, Oregon 97210 USA – Posted September 17^th, 2023. Curated by Marko Reid – Notes – Marko posted everything in a horizontal line. They were stuck to a metal painted deep red and directly above a green ivy.

19.  900 Pier View Drive. Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402 USA – Posted September 18^th, 2023. Curated by Alanna Meltzer-Holderfield – Notes – A quick google of the area produced an Albertson’s grocery store nearby. Idaho + Albertson’s = Built To Spill.

20.  941 N. Broadway St, Los Angeles, California 90012 USA – Posted September 23^rd, 2023. Curated by Leslie Caldera. – Notes – Leslie wrote, “I put it up today in Chinatown. Across the way from an awesome statue of Bruce Lee!”

21.  River Walk, Danville, Virginia 24543 USA – Posted October 3^rd, 2023. Curated by Debbie Foster – Notes – My mom put this one up when she and my dad went to the casino. She said she had a tough time finding something that was metal to stick it to.

22.  East Third Avenue, Lexington, North Carolina 27292 USA – Posted October 10^th, 2023. - Notes – I decided that this was the correct location since there was a No Trespassing sign directly beside the metal wall.

23.  Staton Island Ferry, 4 South Street, NY, NY 10004 USA – Posted October 12^th, 2023. Curated By Bibiana Padilla Maltos – Notes – Bibiana stuck the show to the side of the ferry and directly in front of attendees to this year’s Flux Fest.

24.  903 Randolph Street, Thomasville, North Carolina 27360 USA – Posted October 17^th, 2023. – Notes – And with this show I answered a question I’ve been thinking about, magnets will stick to blue USPS drop boxes.

25.  1700 North Park Street, Chicago, Illinois 60614 USA – Posted October 19^th, 2023 – Curated By LuEllen Joy Miller-Giera – Notes – More bowling alley’s need small magnets stuck to their blue side doors.

26.  South Broad Street, Winston- Salem, North Carolina 27101 USA – Posted October 20^th, 2023 – Notes – These weren’t technically “stuck” to a location, many were clipped to the small box filled with tiny artworks.          

27.  1125 Yadkinville Road, Mocksville, North Carolina, 27028 USA – Posted November 1^st 23– Notes – Since the building made ice, I thought it would be colder to the touch than a regular building. It was regular, building temperature.

28.  Mueller Orchard near the intersection of Manor Rd and Berkman Dr. Austin, Texas, USA – Posted November 4^th, 2023 – Curated By Carmen Kennedy – Notes it’s nice seeing the magnets in front of a throng of pretty red flowers.

29.  632 Trade Street, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27101 USA – Posted November 14^th, 2023 - Notes – I stuck the show to my favorite bar in town. This coming Sunday they will celebrate their depraved 20^th anniversary.

30.  1701 South Ocean Blvd. North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 29582 USA – Posted November 26^th, 2023 – Notes – People look at you strangely when you’re videoing a public bathroom door.

31.  30 Washington Street Central Falls RI 02863 USA – Posted December 3^rd, 2023 - Curated by Lin Collette – Notes – I think Lin put the show on her apartment front door.

32.  1607 Battleground Ave, Greensboro, NC 27408 USA – Posted December 6th, 2023 – Notes – On what might be my last visit to this bookstore (they’re moving to another town) I thought I’d honor them by leaving trash on their door.

33.  Tramkade 20-24 Hertogenbosch Netherlands – Posted December 17^th, 2023 – Curated by Jael Schnapper – Notes – This is the first international solo magnet show!

34.  Rua Porto Rico, 5, Santo André-SP, Brazil, CEP 09280-720 – Posted December 19^th, 2023 – Curated by Marcia Rosenberger – Notes – In the video, I liked when the women and up and took a piece of the magnet collage.

35.  Los Angeles CA USA – Posted December 21^st, 2023 – Curated by Neal Taylor – Notes – I sent Neal three small magnets with my rubber-stamped face on them and two phallic found objects. He positioned them appropriately and in front of a Jack in the Box.

36.  Maria de Guzman at Santa Engracia, Madrid Spain – Posted December 30^th, 2023 – Curated by Luellen Joy Miller-Giera – Notes – Magnet shows on doors are the best.

37.  Outside Garage Gallery Via Cardinale Branda Castiglione 2/1 - 20156 Milano Italy – Posted January 9^th, 2024 – Curated by Roberto Scala – Notes – The first show of the new year and the first show where someone put up everything, I mailed them…envelope, instructions, etc.

38.  Wilkomm Höft, Wolgastweg, 22880 Wedel Schulau, Germany – Posted January 10^th, 2024. – Curated by Rebekka Schmidt – Notes – Rebekka wrote, “It’s a place which is unique in the world and has existed since 1952. The magnet show is on a floating pier in the river Elbe which contains a ship welcome system. At the weekend bigger vessels from all over the world which pass (because they go to the port of Hamburg or come from there) are greeted by the loudspeaker. The speaker also gives information about the vessel like the length and weight of the ship and how many containers they can carry. Then the national anthem of the ship's home country is played. It's a tourist attraction.”

39.  Sunnyvale CA USA – Posted January 26^th, 2024 – Curated by Carmela Rizzuto – Notes – Traffic poles at intersections, are the best place for magnet shows.

40.  2501 Lewisville Clemmons Rd, Clemmons, North Carolina 27012 USA – Posted January 30^th, 2024 – Notes – For some reason their cart returns have flower boxes around them. I was waiting for Goodwill to open to I put one up.

41.  Salisbury Rd. Mocksville NC USA – Posted January 30^th, 2024 – Notes – I liked the colors on the front of the carwash. Since 1952. In the background was a nice collection of visually impressive junk. I had to wait for a guy to make change beside of me before I could put all the magnets up. He looked at me funny when he saw what I was doing.

42.  New York City NY USA – Posted February 3^rd, 2024 – Curated by Joel Cohen – Notes – I sent Joel two different shows. The images he emailed gave no context to where they were located. It was almost surreal.

43.  Stairwell P of City of Oakland Parking Deck CA USA – Posted February 6^th, 2024 – Curated by Joey Patrickt with Assistance by Leslie Caldera – Notes – My favorite show by far, mainly because of Leslie’s head peeking through the window of the parking deck door.

44.  7360 Navarre Parkway, Navarre FL USA – Posted February 7^th, 2024 – Curated by Terry Owenby – Notes – My first show at a major box chain, Walmart!

45.  77 Box Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222 – Posted February 10^th, 2024 – Notes – Stuck to a stop sign advertising the shooting schedule for the TV show Blue Bloods. Any place where Tom Selleck stood is a fine place for a magnet show.

46.  951 Silas Creek Pkwy, Winston-Salem, NC 27127 USA – Posted February 16^th, 2024 – Notes – I stuck this show to a blue post box simply because I drive by it every single day. I can see, without getting out of my car, if anyone has taken the magnets.

47.  Main St and 18th in Vancouver, Canada – Posted February 16^th, 2024 – Curated by Alison Keenan – Notes – Surprisingly, the magnets I sent were not put up for this show. Instead, and this is the first time this has ever happened, the curator replaced my magnets with their own creations. The only thing I sent her that she put up was the sign saying it was a magnet show.

48.  Popular Library "Colibrí" City: Paraná State: Entre Ríos Country: Argentina – Posted February 18th, 2024- Curated by Raul Albanece – Notes – Raul sent me video of various people coming up and ceremoniously taking pieces of the magnetic collage from the front door of a library. He introduced each person as they came up. All around were various hangers-on from a recent Mardi Gras celebration. It looked like everyone was having a delightful party at a library.

49.  Middle of the Strait of Georgia between Victoria and Vancouver, BC, Canada. – Posted February 19^th, 2024 – Curated by Allan Revich – Notes – I think this show was on a ferry?

50.  PRC (Independent Publishing Resource Center) 318 SE Main St., Suite 144 Portland, OR 97214-3303 USA - Posted February 18th, 2024 - Curated By Nonlocal Variable - Notes - In the email that Duane sent, he wrote "I don't do video." The picture is enough.

51.   Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas Nevada USA – Posted March 6^th, 2024 – Curated by Dillon Lambert, Eli Lambert, and Debbie Foster – Notes – My mom took my nephews to Las Vegas. I’m pretty sure they were drunk when my nephew sent the video in the middle of the day.

52.  Canal towpath, on the side of the Letchworth Ave. Bridge (40.23852° N, 74.83094° W), Yardley, Pennsylvania USA – Posted March 31^st, 2024 – Curated by Ken B. Miller – Notes – It’s always nice to have artwork positioned by any body of water.

53.  W. Meeker St. & 2nd Ave S. 224 All Aglow Spa, Kent, Washington, USA – Posted March 31^st, 2024 - Curated by Bonnie Porter – Notes – Bonnie wrote, “It's a Pokémon Go Pokéstop called "Leaf Rack", by the way!”

54.  9283 Nolley Ct. Charlotte, North Carolina 28270 USA – Posted April 20^th, 2024 – Curated by Catherine Harrer Kanvik – Notes – Catherine had help putting up the show from her grandson. He’s in a couple of the pictures she sent.

55.  Tanglewood Park 4061 Clemmons Rd, Clemmons, North Carolina 27012 USA – Posted May 1^st, 2024 – Curated by Will Parham – Notes – Will called his magnet show “choo-choo,” I guess because he posted it on an infamous train inside the park.

56.  414 Deacon Blvd, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27105 USA – Posted May 3^rd, 2024 – Notes – I was almost positive a metal folding chair was magnetic.

57.  2050 Chapel Hill Rd, Durham, North Carolina 27707 USA – Posted May 7^th, 2024 – Notes – I posted it on a trailer with the aspirational words “People Over Profit” painted on them.

58.  207 West Sixth Street, Winston Salem, North Carolina 27107 USA – Posted May 13^th, 2024 – Notes – Nothing like a grouping of four unused weekly newspaper boxes to stick a magnet show to.

59.  Ft. Moore, Georgia USA – Posted May 15^th, 2024 – Curated by Jac Perk – Notes - Nothing like a magnet show in a broken-down children’s playground to really capitalize on creepiness.

60.  Fort Fisher, North Carolina, USA – Posted May 30^th, 2024 – Notes – When Miles and I got back from our two-hour hang, Misty commented on the amount of sand in his shoes.

61.  McLeod and First in Downtown Livermore, California USA – Posted June 3^rd, 2024 – Curated by LuEllen Joy Miller-Giera – Notes – LuEllen says in her video, “I sent you a picture of a sign for a rodeo.” Magnet shows near rodeos are always a good idea.

62.  E. Trade Street, Charlote North Carolina USA – Posted June 7^th, 2024 – Notes – The last time I was in this area things were open. This time the whole area was full of creepy characters waiting to get on a bus.

63.  1642 SC-160, Fort Mill, South Carolina USA – Posted June 9^th, 2024 – Notes – Finding myself with a few minutes at the gras station, cleaning out trash, and airing out the travel farts, I decided to put a magnet show on one of the pumps.

64.  Castellon, Spain – Posted June 11^th, 2024 – Curated by Juan Petry – Notes – The first international show where I think a language barrier created a little frustration. Only the second show to capture someone looking at the magnets.

65.  2372 St. Claude Avenue New Orleans, Louisiana 70117 – Posted June 13^th, 2024 – Curated by LuEllen Joy Miller-Giera – Notes – Seeing my little collage pieces on the side of a New Orleans café, made me calculate how long it’s been since I’ve walked that city.

66.  Calle del Doctor Fourquet- Between 30 and 32, Madrid, Spain – Posted June 16^th, 2024 – Curated by Laura Hortal – Notes - This is the only international show with full sized collages. I dropped this one off at Laura’s house and she took it all the way to Spain with her.

67.  2220 Thomasville Rd. Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27107 USA – Posted June 17^th, 2024 – Notes – I stuck this magnet show on the outside toilets…that’s right, outside toilets. As I kid, I remember this being standard practice, especially at gas stations, but thankfully this custom has slowly died out.

68.  204 W. Acadia Ave, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27127 USA – Posted June 24th, 2024 – Notes – I stuck the show to their mailbox. When I was putting them up, a couple of the magnets fell and broke.

69.  2701 University Pkwy, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27105 USA – Posted July 1^st, 2024 – Notes – I got one inside a toilet!

70.  Gaston Avenue, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103 USA – Posted July 2^nd, 2024 – Notes – I put this one on the top of a little library. I felt like I was combing two projects, the magnet project and how I get rid of most of my framed collages and assemblage pieces.

“Stop Putting Your Trash in Our Little Library, John Foster.”

The "trash" tossed in the trash.

 

I make a lot of stuff. Most of it goes out as mail. I’m talking, hundreds of collages and ephemera a year. 95% of everything I make ends in the mail. That other 5% is a mix of stuff I keep, and put in folders or in random piles, or things I drop off to Little Libraries.

The stuff I leave in Little Libraries can be framed collages or assemblage pieces. During the summer, I have a lot to drop off because I’m working on things nonstop. Instead of keeping it all, or mailing it all, it makes sense to think of other ways to get it all out there. Mailing it would be too expensive and trying to sale it would be a waste of time. I’ve done things in this fashion for a few years.

I consistently visit two or three Little Libraries, with a few others as standbys. I like certain ones because I can fit larger items in them, or because I have a relationship with the owner. I drop things off as they collect in bags in the back of my car. Although it’s fun to distribute things this way, you rarely receive a response. I don’t expect a response. In fact, I have only heard of one person that’s taken something. That response, was positive. I read about it on one of those online, neighborhood forums. At worst, (maybe best) I’m giving away free frames. Frames are cheaper than stamps anyway.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine sent the above, attached picture. He works at a store that has a Little Library out front. Right when you walk in the store, you’re greeted with two repurposed newspaper stands. It’s one of my favorite places to drop off stuff. Not only do I put “makings” in there, I fill up the children’s Little Library (right across from the adult one) with collage packets and boxes of leftover blocks. It’s fun for me, and maybe a few folks enjoy the items. You go to the store, you take a look at one of the libraries. Things disappear within my weekly visits, so I assume people are taking them.

My friend, who works at the store, posted online that he saw something I put in the library tossed in the trash. It was in the trash, inside of the store. Not only had they tossed it, but they wrote “Stop Putting Your Trash in Our Little Library, John Foster.” It was such a bold response that I was happy someone had done it. Instead of looking past something they had no interest in, they got out a sharpie and made their complaints known. I was more offended that they had spelled my name wrong.

As for the actual piece, I get it. It’s not that good. I’m pretty sure I glued something to the middle of it that had fallen off. If the angry graffiti artist had seen that item, they would have easily identified the piece as something truly great, instead of “trash.” They all can’t be winners, and this might not be that one. Their lettering, the placement and the spacing of what they wrote seemed on point to me, they chose the right piece too. I kind of like their additions. We became collaborators as soon as they marked on the thing. To be honest, I think I know who did it. I think someone was using a pen to settle a score. Fuzzy thoughts and proximity to the Little Library might have created this situation. If it isn’t that person, who knows?

Since I didn’t see the message until the end of summer, I didn’t have anything to put in the boxes. Everything I made during the summer had been mailed or already donated to random people or places around town. There was nothing left! Clearly, obviously, I’m going to target this box even more in the future, I simply need to make more “trash” for the box. 

Broadside collaboration between the angry person, Res Nullius (San Diego) and me.