The basic definition of a collage is the combination of visual media, such as paint and paper, applied to a canvas. From that simple explanation, the word can be stretched in many directions.

The Art of Collage exhibit at the Palmer Museum of Art opened May 15 and will run until Sept. 2 in the American Works on Paper Gallery.

"The funny thing about collage is that sometimes you know you're looking at it and sometimes you don't," said Leo Mazow, curator of the exhibit and American Art.

Collage as an art form began in the early 1900s by European artists, but had been practiced in Japan as early as the 10th century, he said.

"In many ways, the pioneers of collage are European artists like Pablo Picasso," Mazow said. "Collage was a part of a new movement in modernism, a new way of expression."

Those artists wanted to break the boundaries of what had previously been deemed "art," he said.

"They were fighting against an artistic dogma coming from the Renaissance. Collage was certainly part of the ways in which they fought in the modernist rebellion," Mazow said.

Many of the pieces featured in the exhibit come from the latter half of the 20th century and are even as recent as 2000's "Cries and Whispers for Malcom X" by Juan Sanchez.

"I think that collage has often been appropriated for political means, but that being said, there are a lot of pieces in this exhibit that are more about form," Mazow said.

Each of the 14 pieces featured in the exhibit have a variety of textures, like Richard Hamwi's "Sheri Grace," which uses different beige-colored materials in a basket-like pattern. Compare that to Sam Gilliam's "Tre," which uses bold, bright patterns and colors.

"Many times, there's a negotiation between the artist and the materials," Mazow said. "A collage is going to have a certain dynamism and action that painting can't."

Most of the pieces in the exhibit are open to interpretation and that allows for visitors to have a discussion about their meaning, said Dana Kletchka, curator of education at the museum.

"People who aren't familiar with art may not be familiar with collage as an art form, and they can discover it with this exhibit," Kletchka said.

The museum is holding both an adult and children's workshop on collage later this month, but registration for both is full.

"Collage is something that is a great way to start learning about art," she said.