Definition:
An assemblage is a category of sculpture constructed ("assembled") from found or scavenged objects and man-made materials. The term was first used in 1953 by the French artist and writer Jean Dubuffet1. The boxes of Joseph Cornell and Combines of Robert Rauschenberg are examples of assemblage.
Assemblage differs from collage in (theoretically) being a three-dimensional artwork, whereas collage is two dimensional, though the boundary between the two can be blurred.
See Also:
References:
1. "Assemblage" in the Oxford Companion to Western Art, editor Hugh Brigstocke, p36.
