“Art should be able to laugh at itself. And to die laughing.” These are the word of Dennis Busch, a master of reassembling reality in the form of collage. Busch got jokes and he has taken his comedy to the page, working each image over until it becomes an absurd yet revealing of a deeper truth, an idea that might not be as palatable if spoken in words. Busch is charmingly crude, rude, and crass—a perfect combination for his Dadaist approach.
Also: Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks
The norm is where Busch goes awry. He likes to remind us of this, even with his previous book title: Back to Normal (Airbag Craftworks). Normal, in Busch’s world, reminds me of an acid trip, of that constant sense of amazement that found me giggling non-stop. “You cannot be serious,” was my on-going refrain. But, alas, in a world of appearances, we’ve agreed that certain deceptions are inappropriate. It is these deceptions that Busch calls to the carpet and tears into with relish.
A favorite image is the apple with teeth. It smiles invitingly. At least, I think it’s smiling. Maybe not. It has always repelled and attracted me, and I can’t help but think of it as an old friend, after having seen it many times over the past decade. It is goofy, grotesque, and glamorous, yet understated. Much like the whole of Busch’s works in this book.
As Busch explains in the book’s introduction, “Collage is the perfect medium to create loopholes in time. It’s rough, edgy, direct, very third-eyed. With one hand on a hexagram and with one hand on a burning rose, that’s like the medium of collage could be described. It’s a dream like affair. Everything is able to change in a splash of never ending free falling imagination. It’s more of a metaphysical affair: you can shake the kaleidoscope of images and see what comes next; if you don’t like it, nevermind, shake it again. There’s always a conversation running between different images. A new dawn is arising within the relationship between different worlds.
“I think one of the main positions of collage making is to cross boundaries, connect them. In the world of collage making you are invited to stroll around like a reality drunken Alice in a Wonderland equipped with magical cutters, scissors and glue. Sometimes I feel like a mad doctor fiddling in the open stomach of a melting down society. A modern Frankenstein. Collage making is to manifest something that never can be manifested. Once you have opened the door for it you realize there’s no way back. Create yourself a reality within this crazy world.”
