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Notes on the organisation of Paradise

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi ; Richard Davis; Editions Alecto

Artwork Details

Notes on the organisation of Paradise
1970
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi ; Richard Davis; Editions Alecto
screenprint on paper
14 15/16 x 10 in. (38.0 x 25.4 cm)
Gift of Professor Diane M. Kirkpatrick
2000/2.14.33

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 hand made, in the traditional artistic sense. Therefore, after he modified, transformed, and assembled the source image(s), the medium would allow 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 stricktly produced as screenprints, this second series "General Dynamic F.U.N." includes works of photolithography. 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."

In this print, Paolozzi's satirical view of contemporary American culture shows the organized system of the skyscraper, a high-rise paradise.

Physical Description:

This screenprint in blue on green has a series of overlapping patterns of rectangles in a grid.

Usage Rights:

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