Stewart Geddes MPhil

The Unstable Sign: tearing, scraping, Cubist collage and ruins

This research by project inquiry examines the characteristics of the significations engendered by decollage – the process of tearing away parts of a poster so as to reveal another (or others) which it covers. The thesis proposes an application of critical theory surrounding Cubist collage of signs ‘shifting’ their significations, as an alternative to the existing polarised theoretical field, which understands decollage as either a manifestation of the aesthetically conceived object, or as deriving significance from the content of the posters themselves.

Finally, a deflected element emerges of understanding _decollag_e in terms of operating as a de-sublimated ruin.