Accession Number
2000/2.14.30

Title
Hermaphroditic Children from Transvestite Parents

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 in (37.94 cm x 25.4 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 than hand made, in the traditional artistic sense. Therefore, when he modified, transformed, assemped 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 strictly 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."

Like a number of other works in this series, Paolozzi illustrates a car, the symbol of mid-century success and luxury. Here, the car is packed full of a band playing traditional instruments while a futuristic performer looks on, holding on to the moon. This is another satirical look at contemporary visual culture, with the composite nuclear family at the center of the story.

Physical Description
This print has a number of cut out images put together to create the composition within the print. In the foreground, there is a female maid and a man in causal attire, who are tied at the waist with rope, and to their left is a girl dressed in heels and pearls, holding a baby and standing in front of a pram. In the background, there is a car filled with a band of musicians, playing music, and pasted on top of the front of the car is a woman in a flowy jumpsuit holding onto a large cresent moon.

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)
automobiles
baby carriages
children (people by age group)
maids (servants)
moons
photolithographs