RSA Scottish Art
Poster of the Society of Scottish Artists
 | Artist: Eduardo Paolozzi |
| Title: Poster of the Society of Scottish Artists | |
| Year: 1969 | |
| Medium: screenprint | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| © Estate of Eduardo Paolozzi 2005. All Rights Reserved, DACS | |
| Description: Eduardo Paolozzi is primarily associated with sculpture, but he has worked in a wide range of media during his long career.In the 1960s Paolozzi was very interested in Pop Art and the art of the machine. This finely crafted poster, Poster of the Society of Scottish Artists, turns a simple V-engine (found in any car) into a highly decorative graphic image. His choice of lettering complements the metallic curves shown in the image. This cross-section shows the inner workings of the engine, just like a mechanic's diagram or a blueprint drawing. This image therefore is quite controversial, since how can it be that a technical drawing is also a piece of fine art? Paolozzi is fascinated with machines as sculptural pieces in their own right. A complex casting in stainless steel for a car engine requires the same skills as casting a sculpture in bronze. Culturally, the engine represents progress, innovation, modernity and power. This is a representation of a real object, so it is not so much a composition made by Paolozzi as one chosen by him. Pop Art used “found” images and objects as inspiration, for example the comic book paintings of Robert Rauschenberg or Andy Warhol's soup cans. Paolozzi has found an arresting layout which suits his purpose and appropriated it for his image. The composition is very directional, and everything fans out from the central cam in an array of radiating lines. Making the screenprint would have been a time-consuming and skilled task, so it should not be assumed that Paolozzi merely “lifted” this image with little artistic input himself. The drawing is very precise, and the muted colour scheme evokes cold steel and engine oil. | |
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