Interview: Richard Vergez

First few basic questions, who are you, what are you doing, where are you coming from?

Hi, I am Richard Vergez. A lot of times I’m not sure what I’m doing, which is what makes my experimental process fun. I am from the East Coast of the United States, having lived in Pennsylvania, New York, and currently South Florida.

Why collages? How did you start to do them?

I like the immediacy of collage, being able to tell a story with just a few pieces of cut-out photos. I see it as painting with photography. I started with collage as an outlet for my day job as a graphic designer. The collage gives me an opportunity to be more free with my visual compositions. There are no rules, only a few aesthetic parameters I work with

Can you tell me about the process of making your work?

The best and happiest process is to let it just pour out of me. I don’t like to spend too much time on pieces as I feel they can then become convoluted. In my opinion, the best pieces are spontaneous and intuitive.

When you start a new piece, do you have a clear vision of where to start or what you are going to do?

My favorite process is to improvise without a specific concept in mind unless it is a specific idea of mine or a commissioned piece with a direction in mind. I start with a book or magazine and proceed to cut out and collect certain visuals which speak to me as possible ingredients to the work. From there I experiment with placement and compositions.

What do you look for when you go through the materials? What catches your attention?

The surrealist inside of me is drawn to faces and hands, and how those elements can be manipulated to convey a sense of detachment from reality. Also, I am very drawn to architectural photos as I like to create my own buildings without actually being an architect.

What are your favorite source materials, or do you like the challenge of working with something new?

I generally gravitate more towards vintage and ephemeral publications like Life Magazine or Popular Mechanics. I like the quality of the imagery and the pedestrian subject matter. Something normal like a mundane news story that can be transformed into a surreal situation by juxtaposing a couple of elements. I feel that the photos in publications such as National Geographic are already too composed. However, I am always up for a challenge to use new source material.

Do you have any guilty pleasures as an artist?

Negative space is my guilty pleasure. I feel it is an effective way to frame a visual situation. In the same way, one can get carried away with filling every space of the picture plane, you can always get carried away with adding too much space.

What do your art and collaging mean to you?

It is a therapeutic process and a way to express emotion or ideas. But something that can always be left open for interpretation. I don’t like to give it away all at once.

“My collages can be as melodic as they can be atonal”

Which other art forms inspire you besides collaging? And does it show somehow in your works?

The film is a big inspiration. Directors like David Lynch, Maya Deren, and Alejandro Jodorowsky. A lot of times I compose a collage piece as if it were a scene in a movie. This has led me to further explore video art using found imagery as well as future experiments I am planning for Super 8 film. Also, music is important. My collages can be as melodic as they can be atonal.