Collage Is the Greatest of All the Arts

She believed collage was the greatest of all the arts
And was busy pasting pictures of horses
Next to ads for laundry soap
Next to Mohammed Ali
She had a turquoise in her ear
And said Rachmaninoff was always in her head

These lines are from the song “Estelle” by Dan Bern. That first line comes to me every now and then. When it does, I find it hard to disagree with Estelle about collage: it might just be the greatest of all the arts.

Sometimes simplicity is all that’s called for — or cohesion, or perfect order. But not in most cases when it comes to artistic projects. Too much simplicity has a tendency to turn life into a hospital room. In almost all cases, adding some elements of collage will improve a work of art.

Collage elements such as: randomness, juxtaposition, surprise, clever disorder, controlled chaos… And of course: things overlapping in a way that’s ultimately calculated, even if it’s made to seem accidental.

What else might be the greatest of all the arts? Painting? But how would you rank that against photography? Or photography against novels? Or novels against films? Or films against symphonies?