Compose two styles

Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.

How to divide the work

Composition
Follow Dada: Keep one reading path; rotate and sever the rest
Type
Set in Dada's manner (Collide weights, directions and cases in one plane), and let Editorial Collage's lettering (A disciplined text face with large pull quotes) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
Material
Ground in Dada's material (Letterpress black, red, off-white; bind the accidents with repetition); bring in exactly one thing from Editorial Collage (Photos, scraps, hand-drawn lines; leave the cut edges visible).
Colour
Build on #efe6d0, #d7362f, #161513 and admit one accent from #ede6d8, #e4462f, #22201d.

Where they fight

These two are already listed as related, so the join should come easily.

Caution

  • Dada Not decorative messiness. Decide which authority or custom you are objecting to.
  • Editorial Collage Don't just add material. Be able to say what every fragment means.

Image prompt

An original image that takes its structure from Dada (Style, 1916–1920s) and its accent from Editorial Collage (Technique, contemporary). Structural cues: Rotated type; Fragments of sound; Collisions of scale; Unbalanced margins. Accent cues, used sparingly: Cut-out photographs; Mixed scales; Collision with white space; Annotations. Composition: Keep one reading path; rotate and sever the rest. Type and lettering: Collide weights, directions and cases in one plane. Let one material quality come from the second style: Photos, scraps, hand-drawn lines; leave the cut edges visible. Mood: Rebellion, Play, Exhilaration. Color: build on #efe6d0, #d7362f, #161513 with a single accent drawn from #ede6d8, #e4462f, #22201d. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.

Related entries

  • Dada 1916–1920s / Style / Avant-garde

    Deliberately dislocates meaning and order, making authority itself the material of the joke.

  • Editorial Collage contemporary / Technique / Publishing and Editing

    Layers fragments from different times and contexts, showing the editor's point of view before any explanation.

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