Jean Dubuffet’s Assemblages d’Empreintes

Johnson-Eilola and Selber define assemblage as the process of taking texts that already exist and transforming them into new texts that have different contextual meanings. Just as noted in the definition itself, the concept of the assemblage can be different depending on the context. In the artistic world, an assemblage is a specific type of artwork. It is often referred to as a collage that takes on three-dimensional form with various types of materials. Though there were earlier artists, Jean Dubuffet is often looked to as one of the pioneers of assemblage art. He coined the term in the 1950’s, which is when Dubuffet started doing collages composed out of various materials. The assemblage that I would like to focus on is Dubuffet’s Assemblages d’Empreintes, which is a collection of works featuring butterfly wings. Assemblages d’Empreintes and other works by Dubuffet fall into the “art brut” genre, which he himself established. It literally translates to “raw art” in French and works to step outside the confines of traditional fine art styles. Other artists in the same genre include Andre Breton, and Adolf Wölfli. Art historians have said that Dubuffet began using the wings because they conveyed water rippling better than his brush stroke in that moment. The pieces from the collection are small prints composed of various butterfly wings that come together to make different figures. Meaning is created through design because on their own, there would simply be a pile of butterfly wings. With proper arrangement, Dubuffet is able to show teeth on a certain piece, while arranging the wings into a hat on a gentleman in another. If you were to look at “Le Strabique”, you would see that the wings are carefully arranged to show a surprised look on the figure’s face. Furthermore, the selection of wings is important to explore when breaking down Dubuffet’s assemblage series. He chose not to use just one species of butterfly for his works, but multiple. This showcases different colors, shapes, and even textures. Dubuffet might use darker wings to showcase hair and lighter wings for eyes. The butterfly wings may be the most obvious component in Assemblages d’Empreintes, but his pieces were mixed media. Dubuffet would mainly use gouache on paper for this assemblage series, and you will notice how they all have dark backgrounds. Nearly all of Debuffet’s works were known for their texture and drab colors. The juxtaposition of the butterfly wings and the black background draws more attention to the actual figures. The decision to put the works on paper rather than canvas or another bulky material was conscious, considering that the delicacy of the wings and the paper complement each other.

 Assemblages d’Empreintes Remediation 

My remediation of Assemblages d’Empreintes took careful consideration. I had to first decide whether I wanted to change the assemblage series into written word or stay within the visual genre. Being that I opted to use an assemblage in the visual genre (versus something written like a collection of short stories), it made more sense to stay within that realm. I wanted to do more than just remake Dubuffet’s assemblage series into another collage, especially since this would not have necessarily changed the context and given new meaning. I decided to create a t-shirt featuring pieces of Dubuffet’s assemblages. Then, I considered that Dubuffet’s Assemblages d’Empreintes is a series of pieces and opted to do a collection of t-shirts instead of just one. The first and second t-shirts feature one specific piece from his series of assemblages. I also wanted to make sure that I incorporated the element of 21st century writing into the remediation, which is why I chose to create a design that included both an assemblage a quote from the artist. The quote reads “Art is a language, an instrument of knowledge, an instrument of communication.” I felt that this quote was important to include because it also relates to my reason for taking the artistic route with this project. Though only visual, Assemblages d’Empreintes still tells a story through elements like design, juxtaposition, arrangement, genre, etc. These are the same concepts that we have applied to writing throughout the course. For the final t-shirt design, I took snippets from various works in the series and combined them into a butterfly. I felt that it was important to bring all of Dubuffet’s works together into one piece, which is a play on an assemblage itself. My remediation turned the original assemblage into wearable art, taking Dubuffet’s work from purely aesthetic to functional. Audiences that would appreciate the remediation include both males and females with an interest in art. The t-shirt could also be sold as merchandise at the museums that house Dubuffet’s artwork.

From a rhetorical standpoint, I brought the original artwork and the t-shirt together in order to a create an entirely new product. I made the choice to do a black t-shirt because of the similarities to the dark backgrounds used by Dubuffet in his series. I downloaded a vector template of the t-shirt that could be easily manipulated and used Sumo Paint in order to create the mock-up of the shirt design. Technology placed an instrumental role in accomplishing my goal of designing an assemblage t-shirt. If I would have merely sketched the design, or cut out printed copies of Dubuffet’s works and glued them, there would not have been a significant enough change in context. Being able to digitally produce the design helped to completely transform the original text. I also made sure to consider the key terms of the semester: audience, assemblage, circulation, design, exigency, genre, material, and network. As mentioned earlier, my audience would be consumers with an interest in art. Exigency could be a factor when a museum wants to make sure tourists make a purchase during their visit. The original series and my remediated version serve as assemblages. The circulation could be thought of as how the t-shirts would be distributed to consumers. The design element comes in with how I created the t-shirt and the collage of Dubuffet’s art. In designing the t-shirts, I considered the art brut genre of his collection, leaving the butterfly with raw edges. The materials used in my remediation were thought of with the goal of representing the assemblage but still being wearable, hence why I chose a basic cotton t-shirt.

My remediation of Assemblages d’Empreintes works to present Dubuffet’s artwork in a completely new way to viewers. My t-shirt collection shows the range of the artwork and tells the artist’s story. At the same time, there is added value because people can actually wear this assemblage rather than just admire it. By putting the designs t-shirts it allows his artwork to cross into the fashion world, which in itself creates a new audience and purpose.