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Richard Hamilton was an English painter and collage artist. His 1956 collage "Just What Is It That Makes Today's Home So
Different So Appealing?" is considered by critics and historians to be among the
earliest works of Pop Art. For Hamilton, pop art meant emerging in popular culture
such as movies, television, magazines, and music. His alignment with the Rolling
Stones and the Beatles from whom he designed the White album cover as a limited
edition print demonstrates he succeeded in bridging this gap between high art
and consumer culture. Just What Is It That Makes Today's Home So Different So
Appealing was created for the catalogue of the exhibition This Is Tomorrow in
London, England and was first reproduced in black and white. This Is Tomorrow was
an art exhibition in August 1956 at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London. The
exhibition included artists, sculptors, and graphic designers who got together
in the 1950s to discuss aspects of visual culture that weren't considered part
of a traditional artists work. The Independent Group wanted to challenge the
modernist approaches to culture and got the public's attention with this
participation in this exhibition. Since most of these imports were from America
it made them especially fascinating. The exhibition's most remembered exhibit was
a room created by artists such as John McHale and of course Richard Hamilton
The collage consists of images taken mainly from American magazines. It
focused on American mass culture and depicts the post-war consumer culture of
the late 1950s. The living room is crowded with objects of desire: a TV set,
tape recorder, and the bodybuilders muscles. It can be said that the crowded
imagery of this collage is the depiction of the new culture that will not be
sustained. Hamilton laid the groundwork for pop art
and introduced the ideas as an active consumer and contributor to
mass culture. In Britain during the early post-war era, there was a sudden desire
of streamlined consumer goods from the United States. Much of the middle class
was still struggling in England and the slower post-war economy so this collage
was filled with state-of-the-art luxuries. The collage presents all the
ways of communicating available at that time and reflects Hamilton's interest
in popular culture and technology. Hamilton designed the collage as a
parody of American advertising. The title was actually the first line of a copy
in an ad that appeared on the inside cover of an American magazine called the
"Ladies Home Journal" in 1955. It also introduced the theme of interior design
and created an image of the future. In his collage, Hamilton inserted various
objects and the most eye-catching figure is the nude bodybuilder and in his right
hand he holds an enormous lollipop. In addition to the television and vacuum,
cleaner various items representing the modern consumer economies surround them.
A large tin of ham, the Ford Motor Company crest, and the tape recorder.
What first appears to be the ceiling of the room if you look closer it looks like a
photograph of outer space which can represent the Space Race between the
Soviet Union and the United States which began on August 2nd, 1955. Hamilton's
collage emphasizes on the nude man who was built with an ideal body as well as
the new nude woman. They can be recognized as a contemporary Adam and Eve
surrounded by the temptations of the post-war consumer goods.
Hamilton's collage is iconographic because it was created during the time
in which people were fascinated by television, cars, theaters, and recording
devices. As you see, he uses this imagery in his artwork. In the left side corner
of the collage Hamilton inserted an arrow that ready "Ordinary cleaners reach
only this far" The implied line allows Hamilton's audience to assume that nobody
can maintain their mainstream image when they vacuum the stairs, so fortunately
they get a maid to do it. Also with the longer hose of the vacuum
the hired help can stay farther away from the homeowners. The proportion of
the maid in Hamiltons' collage also depicts how she is less important than
the homeowners. One aspect of this collage that is inspired by Pop Art is a
Young Romance poster on the wall. It overpowers the portrait next to it which
is in black and white so the audience can assume it is from a past generation.
The Young Romance poster is bigger, colorful, and more dramatic. The "Young" aspect is
intriguing and I assume Hamilton placed these two portraits to compare life
before Pop Art. Aside from all the things they do own, it's interesting to
explore what they don't have. We can see that the only phone in the room is on the
television. This may serve to show that the continual source of the homeowners
inspirations and desires. They watch television to learn about what else they
need. The collage clearly expresses the culture fascination of the perfect
American lifestyle and an up-to-date image of contemporary life. Richard
Hamilton's contemporary Adam and Eve's image is dependent on the things they
own and the things they own are determined by mass media and mainstream
consumerism. The main ideas Pop Art has about consumerism
as well as fame and placing value can be seen in Hamilton's collage. The artwork I
decided to create is a collage just like Richard Hamilton's. I was influenced by
the crowded imagery in his artwork and the use of items popular in the consumer
culture of America. I cropped items out of articles and inserted them into a
background of a lavish living room. One of the most prominent figures in
Hamilton's collage is the nude woman sitting on the couch. I have placed the
Kardashian family on the living-room couch in my artwork because they have
become iconic figures in popular culture. I also inserted ways of communicating
just the way Hamilton did. I replaced the tape recorder and black-and-white
television with iPhones and a flat-screen TV with Netflix provided
these two items our consumer goods that are in high demand as well as a
Fortnite character which has become a worldwide phenomenon that can be used
for entertainment and communication. I also inserted the girl sitting by the
coffee table whose attention is completely focused on her cellphone. As
we all know social media is a great way to participate in social networking,
however human interactions are becoming more absent. Just as Hamilton placed a
maid away from the homeowners I placed a maid robot which I believe will soon be part
of American households. However, it will be considered a luxury
and only those who can afford such a luxury will be able to enjoy it. The
robots proportion is also smaller to the homeowners which depicts how it is less
important. Just What Is It That Makes Today's Home So Different Do Appealing?
is remarkable because at the time in 1956 it would be several years before
the phenomenon of pop art was recognized. Somehow Hamilton sensed the direction in
which contemporary art was moving and laid the groundwork for Pop Art.
Thank you for watching!