Accession Number
2000/2.14.1

Title
Transparent Creatures Hunting New Victims

Artist(s)
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi

Artist Nationality
British (modern)

Object Creation Date
1965-1970

Medium & Support
photolithograph on paper

Dimensions
14 15/16 in x 10 1/16 in (38 cm x 25.5 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Professor Diane M. Kirkpatrick

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 when 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, 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."

Like others in this series, this print takes a satirical look at contemporary culture. The ominous title creates a sense of danger for the seemingly carefree children playing in the pool in the bottom image. With the combination of the doubled female—possibly referencing clones—the technolology, and the orangutan—possibly referencing the film "Planet of the Apes" released in 1968—the scene pushes the viewer to question the possiblities of modern science and its depiction in contemporary pop culture.

Physical Description
This photolithographic print in neon blue, purple and pink has a variety of scenes. At the top left is an image of an orangutan dressed up as a human pilot and holding a in-flight magazine. Right below this are two copies of the same image of a woman's headshot with small illegible text at the bottom right; the right image is slightly blurred. To the right of these scenes, at the top is a Mondrian-type image and below it are a series of circuits. At the bottom, there is a photograph of two small children playing with blow-up toys in a blow-up swimming pool. 

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
Pop (fine arts styles)
children (people by age group)
circuit boards
photolithographs
pilots
swimming pools