Cohort 52 is a platform for emerging voices from the Applied Art & Design program at Sierra College in Northern California. Cohort 52 is facilitated by Assistant Professor Vincent Pacheco.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Oliver Elfstrand. I am an 18 year old graphic design artist from Newcastle, California, who enjoys collecting DVDs, and hanging out with friends and family.
How much experience do you have with collage?
I have had little to none.
Collage artists tend to be picky when it comes to their source material. Can you talk about your approach for selecting your images and/or publications?
My grandma has quite a few People magazines that she has read in the past and were kinda stored up and forgotten about. I chose People, because there are various kinds of imagery and it was fun seeing what you would get with each magazine.
Were there any large themes you intended to explore or unpack before you began with this series of work? Did you stay on theme, or did things change as you began physically cutting and pasting images?
The main theme I was exploring was the question: “If you could describe our world in one or a couple of words, what would they be?” I didn’t really stray far from the theme as there were unlimited possibilities for words to describe the world.
How did your background and life experiences inform your collages?
The collages were both inspired by past experiences and things that I have done research on.
What was your environment and set-up like when making the work? Did you listen to music? Did you work in isolation, or were you surrounded by distraction? Do you think this influenced the work you made?
My workspace environment was messy and I had to share it with other members of my family. Fortunately, I was able to keep calm and do my work pretty gracefully.
Scissors or X-Acto?
Scissors.
Was there anything unexpected that emerged while creating your work? Any new epiphanies?
No. Didn’t really see anything.
Looking at your work again, has your understanding of your collages changed over time? Has any hidden meaning emerged?
Not really. I don’t really get deep-thoughted often.
