collage

[kuh-lahzh, koh-]

noun

1. a technique of composing a work of art by pasting on a single surface various materials not normally associated with one another, as newspaper clippings, parts of photographs, theater tickets, and fragments of an envelope.

2. a work of art produced by this technique.

3. an assemblage or occurrence of diverse elements or fragments in unlikely or unexpected juxtaposition.

   The experimental play is a collage of sudden scene shifts, long monologues, musical interludes, and slapstick.

4. a film that presents a series of seemingly unrelated scenes or images or shifts from one scene or image to another suddenly and without transition.

verb (used with object)

collaged, collaging 

1. to make a collage of.

   The artist has collaged old photos, cartoon figures, and telephone numbers into a unique work of art.

collage

/ kɒ-, kɔlaʒ, kəˈlɑːʒ /

noun

1. an art form in which compositions are made out of pieces of paper, cloth, photographs, and other miscellaneous objects, juxtaposed and pasted on a dry ground

2. a composition made in this way

3. any work, such as a piece of music, created by combining unrelated styles

Other Word Forms

• collagist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of collage¹

1915–20; < French, equivalent to colle paste, glue (< Greek kólla ) + -age -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of collage¹

C20: French, from coller to stick, from colle glue, from Greek kolla

Example Sentences

With no body recovered, family members and neighbors wept in front of a photo collage of Joseph and listened to a priest who asked God to forgive Joseph for his sins.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"The Telegram account was, for lack of a better term, a taster pack - essentially a collage of the material he had available of all the different victims," explained Lloyd Richardson, the CCCP's director of technology.

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By putting Ecuador in the forefront of his mind and of this hilarious work of collage, Cordova made a singular tribute to his loved ones.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When we visited earlier this month, some of the residents were sitting round a table in the dining area, making brightly coloured collages of flower baskets.

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While the main exhibition pays tribute to “Girlfriends,” there’s only one artwork — a mixed media piece by Jillian Thompson that uses acrylic, thread and collage — that displays the beloved friends group’s actual faces.

Read more on Los Angeles Times