Mumbling and Munching to Muzak
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi ; Richard Davis; Editions Alecto
Description
Subject Matter:
Like many of his contemporaries, Paolozzi used new printing techniques as a way to engage with modern mass media's new visual culture. At the same time, the photomechanical process made the work look mechanically manufactured rather than hand made, in the traditional artistic sense. Therefore, after he modified, transformed, and assembled the source image(s), the medium allowed for a more uniform final image.
This print is one of a large series of 50 prints included in the 1970 portfolio, which was a second edition of the an earlier group of slightly larger prints titled "Moonstrips Empire News." While the first series was strictly produced as screenprints, this second series "General Dynamic F.U.N." includes works of photolithography, like this one. The themes seen in this portfolio are different in style and subject matter from other Pop works of the period, but engage with the images of a modern mass media, looking beyond just advertising and publicity images. Likewise, the title of the portfolio alludes to the General Dynamics Corporation, who was the manufacturer of the F-111 fighter used during the Vietnam War—the same one referenced in James Rosenquist monumental painting "F-111."
Here, in a satire of American contemporary culture, Paolozzi juxtaposed images of women's bodies from fashion magazines with the expertly crafted dinner items of the domestic sphere—in this case a photo spread appropriated from the 1966 advertisement for Hellmann's Mayonnaise in Women's Day.
Physical Description:
This print has two main sections. At the top is a large photograph of three salad-filled cabbage bowls on a tablecloth. Each one is labeled (clockwise from top left): seafood coleslaw, cottage cheese coleslaw, and california coleslaw. The lower section is flanked at the top and bottom with bands of checkers and polkadots, and at the center there are five images of women, standing in contemporary dress.
Usage Rights:
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