‘Shock of the News,’ on Artists and Newspapers - NYTimes.com

When my kids get ready to make art, they reach for the newspaper. Cheap and always available, it’s our household’s all-purpose work surface for messy creativity. And when the kids are done, their creations proudly drying on the kitchen counter, the paint-spattered, goop-glopped newspaper pages spread out to protect the table are often striking to look at in their own right: a Syrian rebel disappearing into a burst of pink watercolor; an exposé of Wall Street crimes redacted with glue blobs and fake feathers.

Above: Paul Klee, “Alpha bet II,” 1938 from Shock of the News