Unseen Images. Imagination in the Making of Sabine Hertig’s Collages

Abstract

This paper begins with a brief summary of a variety of theories on the creative process, addressing the question how unseen, surprising and intriguing images come about. A close reading of the collage process employed by the artist Sabine Hertig is conducted, following the claim by Gille Deleuze, that the artist is emptying out the canvas instead of filling it up (Deleuze, 2003). The analysis of her process to create small and large-scale collages, taking ‘scraps’ from old magazines, shows how her specific methodology alters and combines preconceived processes so that they lead to unexpected results