Collection Ignites Creativity

Phillumeny is the word ascribed to the hobby of collecting matchbooks or other match related ephemera. Some people pick up matches as souvenirs or reminders of places they’ve visited; others seek out matchbooks because they are interested in the different labels and advertisements; and still others save them for their obvious function, lighting cigarettes. Native Palisadian Tom Hofer, though, has a different reason. Part phillumenist, part artist, Hofer recently created 18 matchbook collages, 11 of which are on display at The Hidden Cafe in the Palisades Highlands, by recreating his favorite matchbooks, on a much larger scale, complete with striker and staple. ‘I don’t consider myself a matchbook collector, but I am collecting them,’ Hofer says. ‘I collect them for their artistic resource, so I can turn it into something else.’ Hofer began creating collages several years ago. In an attempt to recreate the artwork of one of his favorite artists, Hofer quickly became aware that paint was not his medium. He was much more adept in working with paper and glue, in part due to his job as a graphic artist at the Palisadian-Post, since 1989. ‘It was a lot easier for me to recreate something by cutting out paper and creating different layers,’ Hofer says. ‘It was easier for me to do it with paper than paint.’ Soon after making his first collage, based on a painting by Shag, Hofer discovered his father’s large collection of matchbooks, mostly from places he had been. His father, Arnold, who came to America from Germany in the 1950s, had been collecting matchbooks since he arrived. ‘I happened to see my dad’s matchbook from the House of Lee and I thought, ‘Hmm, I can reproduce that and I’m not limited to paper if I’m doing an object,” Hofer says. ‘I can go for different texture for the striker and stick a staple on the bottom.’ After completing the House of Lee collage, representing the legendary Chinese restaurant on Sunset, and several others, Hofer moved on to other artistic endeavors. A bass player, songwriter and vocalist, he focused his creative energy on his music for a couple of years. But after cleaning out an art file at work, and beginning to compile a portfolio, Hofer’s interest in creating collages was sparked once again. ‘Earlier this year I was trying to work on music, but it was creatively just not happening, so I thought I would give the collages another go. Suddenly I began throwing myself head-first into those and having a blast doing it.’ Working at his parents’ house in Pacific Palisades, Hofer completed several collages the first weekend. ‘I had always meant to come back to them because I had plenty of matchbooks I had left to do,’ he says. ‘Now that pile is growing daily.’ The variety of collages he has created range from Las Vegas hotels, to bars and diners, from beverages to historical establishments such as Don the Beachcomber. And although many of his inspirations are from his father’s extensive collection, Hofer is always on the lookout for visually interesting matchbooks to recreate. ‘The first dozen or so that caught my eye were from my dad’s collection,’ he says. ‘Now I just go on eBay and spend far too much time looking up matchbooks I haven’t seen before that feature good artwork.’ In the beginning Hofer was much less selective, bidding on small lots of matchbooks, confident that somewhere in the pile would be a matchbook he could recreate. ‘Now I take closer looks at the images on eBay and make sure there is something worth my while before I even start to bid.’ After Hofer selects the matchbook he wants to recreate, the artistic process begins. He scans the image into his computer and blows up the image to the size he wants to recreate, then visits the art store to find the paper or matboard whose colors match the original matchbook most closely. After creating a template on his computer, he begins the tedious process of cutting out each individual element of the matchbook, and assembling the pieces to create the final product. ‘Working on them is my version of meditation because I get sort of lost in the period and the art of the matchbook,’ Hofer says. ‘By doing the collage it’s almost like I’m dissecting the artwork of the original piece and seeing it for its elements of shape and color and rebuilding it.’ After completing 18 collages, and receiving numerous compliments from those who had viewed his work, Hofer began exploring the idea of having it displayed somewhere. After reading a story in the Post about a local artist whose work was shown at The Hidden Cafe (1515 Palisades Dr.), Hofer scouted the location and then contacted owner Mary Autera. ‘It was amazing. It went great,’ Hofer says of their meeting. ‘She even suggested that I could start hanging them that night.’ Although Hofer waited a few days before doing so, giving him a chance to frame them, he soon had 11 of his collages on display in the restaurant, and the following week held an artist’s reception, where he received enough positive feedback to encourage him to continue this artistic endeavor. Hofer now hopes to begin selling his pieces commercially and displaying them in more places. He plans to take some of his Vegas-inspired collages, which are among his favorites, to different hotels or restaurants in Vegas, to see about having them hung there. With three more collages in the works, Hofer intends to continue recreating matchbooks, incorporating new media like fabric, wood or found objects and he wants to begin new collages inspired by stained glass art, stamps, album covers and comic books. For more examples of Hofer’s work, go to www.tomhofer.org