Matt Addison: Combining Songwriting and Collage Art

Local creative Matt Addison first discovered his interest in collage art through 90s indie rock bands.

“I have a very vivid memory of finding a copy of ‘Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock’ by Sebadoh,” Matt recalls. “Because of the collage art on the album cover, I knew I needed to hear their music.”

Already a songwriter himself, Matt felt inspired by Sebadoh, Pavement, and Guided By Voices to create collage-style album covers for his own music.

For a while, Matt’s collages were limited by a lack of materials available, forcing him to create them sporadically. But then he inherited his grandmother’s massive collection of magazines that she had gathered over her lifetime. With such a huge collection at his disposal, Matt began crafting his collages faster than ever before.

Over the years, Matt has developed his own process for constructing his collages. With so many different magazines to choose from, Matt scans for any images that catch his eye and cuts them out of the magazine. He selects one of these images to function as a background, then continues to build and arrange other images around it. This leads many of his collages to exhibit a surrealistic landscape.

“Sometimes, a collage will come together very quickly and intuitively,” Matt said. “Other times, I'll have a collage that sits unfinished for quite some time until I find the right piece that makes it feel complete.”

Along with writing music, Matt and his band Mythical Motors have had the opportunity to sell prints of their collages as well as work on commissioned artwork. Last year, the band had even planned their first-ever art show at Barley Chattanooga Taproom. However, 2020 wasn’t kind to their plans.

“We had to cancel because of the pandemic,” Matt said, “but hopefully, I will be able to book another show for my collages later this year.”

One of Matt’s larger collages will feature as the cover for Mythical Motors’ next completed album. Mythical Motors looks forward to releasing it sometime this year along with large prints of the album cover.

Check out Matt and Mythical Motors’ collages, prints, and albums on Instagram and give their music a listen on Bandcamp!