Silly & Surreal: The Collage Art of Kenneth Rougeau

Posted by: Charlotte Self in Art & Artists, Collage, Digital Art

"Offer Me Solutions"

Kenneth Rougeau composes creative collage constructions that are frequently surreal and sometimes downright silly. His first serious digital endeavor was to create a series of 18 fantasy images as illustrations for Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Since then he has also created a second series based on Through The Looking Glass.

"Who Stole The Tarts?"

"A Quiet Hour"

Ken works primarily in the digital medium, as it allows the most freedom of expression, but he does thoroughly enjoy creating rough hewn, one-of-a-kind original paper & mixed media collages whenever he can. He’s recently been experimenting with a series of explorable “strata” collages which are essentially small altered art books that can be opened and examined, which he calls “de Composition” books because they are made from small, tattered & torn composition books which are covered with imagery.

"de Composition 3"

"Patience"

Ken’s most recent digital collage series, Ascensions, combines vintage anatomical images with fairy-like butterfly wings to create a sorrowfully evocative set of surrealistic scenes. He admits that the piece entitled Patience was in fact inspired “a bit by Salvador Dali & a bit by the Grateful Dead.” Arguably the most powerful piece in his Ascensions series, the Metamorphosis, seems to convey mankind’s changing and evolving, our desire to become more than we are, more than the sum of our parts. The image depicts an anatomical “angel” who has evolved beyond & removed his “outer layers” exposing his true self.

"Metamorphosis"

Ken’s humorous series of anthropomorphic collages give us a glimpse into an alternate universe in which English dandies become Dandy Lions , where a secretary bird sits, parasol in hand, to interview for a clerical position, and where raccoons rob people at gunpoint. Oh, and don’t miss Captain Kangaroo!

"Miss Secretary"

Kenneth Rougeau has created numerous other, non-serial digital collages as well. Many of his works are inspired by literature and music including Waiting For Godot, based on the Samuel Beckett play, and both Field Below & Apres Moi Le Deluge, inspired by the Regina Spektor songs of the same names.