Collection of the University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA. Acquired through the Ackerman Foundation.
1981.1
Decency and Decorum in Production from General Dynamic F.U.N.
1965 – 1970 (Date created)
1970 (Date published)
1970 (Date published)
Photolithograph from a portfolio of thirty-four photolithographs and sixteen screenprints
10 in W
x
15 in H
(Object)
British
This lithograph by British artist Eduardo Paolozzi is a collage of arresting images drawn from mass media sources. A woman with red lipstick embraces thorny roses, juxtaposed with the pin-up-like smile on her face. An image of the making of the Iwo Jima monument suggests a hyper-masculine dominance, which presides over the smaller characters in the image. An image of two men who appear to be at work in a spaceship and a variation of the American flag showcase iconic American symbols. Contrasting Planters Peanuts men illuminate Paolozzi’s interest in the effects of the printing medium explored in this portfolio.[1] This strange mix of iconography is tinted with a warm tone that unifies its disparate images. Separately, the images may appear as nostalgic clippings from the past, but together they compromise a more profound statement about the effects of mass communication and consumerism in American culture. With its fragmented view of American life, Paolozzi’s print reinforces the ubiquity of gender stereotypes in the imagery of postwar consumer culture.
Decency and Decorum in Production is one of fifty images printed as part of the General Dynamic F.U.N. portfolio. These works follow an earlier related series by Paolozzi titled Moonstrips Empire News. Paolozzi produced five different editions of General Dynamic F.U.N., each identified alphabetically by the letters A, B, C, D, and E.[2] This lithograph was printed by Richard Davis, while the screenprints from the portfolio were produced at Alecto Studios in London by Lyndon Haywood. Because of Paolozzi’s difficulty in finding a willing publisher for the series, the portfolio took five years to complete. Collected during Paolozzi’s rounds in World War II, the clippings that comprise his private collection were taken from men enlisted in the army, as well as from other sources.[3] According to his collaborator Martin Bax, Paolozzi's collection of articles, images, and magazine advertisements from which these prints were developed numbered some 300 to 400 fragments.[4]
In 1967, Paolozzi included images from both portfolios in Ambit, a quarterly literary periodical founded by Bax and published in the United Kingdom.[5] Just as Paolozzi’s imagery drew upon mass-produced media images, his artistic practice also took advantage of such approaches, following its formats and reproductive technologies, and embracing the “peculiarities which occur in commercially produced material.”[6]
The title of this work comes from a phrase in the National Association of Broadcasters' Code of Standards from 1952. The code states, “Television, and all who participate in it, are jointly accountable to the American public for respect for…decency and decorum in production.” The code was put in place to censor “sexual sin” and embarrassing “anatomical detail” on television.[7] Paolozzi plays off this old-fashioned wording, mocking the moralistic codes of television during that decade, while also hinting at their absurdity through juxtapositions of surrealist fantasy. J.G. Ballard, an English novelist and friend of Paolozzi, writes in the introductory text for General Dynamic F.U.N. that the series represents “a massive project to create from his eclectic and unique collection of twentieth century ephemera, a definitive statement on modern man and his dilemma.”[8]
By describing the work as a “unique guidebook to the electric garden of our minds,” Ballard powerfully ties Paolozzi’s imagery to the psychological conditions of the mass media age.[9] It is significant that the images in Paolozzi’s series often address issues of gender stereotypes and the presence of the human body in advertising, themes also evident in the pop prints from One Cent Life. General Dynamic F.U.N. showcases idealized representations of both men and women, illuminating visual culture both ironically and humorously to connect seemingly random images into an interconnected collage reflecting a media-rich society.
[1] The Museum of Modern Art. "General Dynamic F.U.N. | MoMA." The Museum of Modern Art. Accessed February 15, 2018. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/portfolios/68954?locale=ko.
[2] Eduardo Paolozzi, Decency and Decorum in Production, 1965-1970, General Dynamic F.U.N., London.
[3] Robin Spencer. Eduardo Paolozzi: Recurring Themes. London: Trefoil Books. 1984. 140.
[4] Martin Bax. Interview in ‘RE/Search 8/9: J.G. Ballard,’ recorded in 1983.
[5] "About," About - Ambit, accessed April 01, 2018, http://www.ambitmagazine.co.uk/about.
[6] Paolozzi, Eduardo. The Complete Prints of Eduardo Paolozzi: Prints, Drawings, Collages 1944-77. Victoria & Albert Museum, 1977.
[7] "Seal of Good Practice - USA," Television History- The First 75 Years, accessed April 19, 2018, http://www.tvhistory.tv/SEAL-Good-Practice.htm.
[8] Eduardo Paolozzi, Decency and Decorum in Production, 1965-1970, General Dynamic F.U.N., London.
[9] SouthBank Centre. "Eduardo Paolozzi: General Dynamic F.U.N." Eduardo Paolozzi: General Dynamic F.U.N | Southbank Centre. 1998. 2015. Accessed February 15, 2018. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/about/touring
Author: Hayley Pontia - Spring 2018
Decency and Decorum in Production is one of fifty images printed as part of the General Dynamic F.U.N. portfolio. These works follow an earlier related series by Paolozzi titled Moonstrips Empire News. Paolozzi produced five different editions of General Dynamic F.U.N., each identified alphabetically by the letters A, B, C, D, and E.[2] This lithograph was printed by Richard Davis, while the screenprints from the portfolio were produced at Alecto Studios in London by Lyndon Haywood. Because of Paolozzi’s difficulty in finding a willing publisher for the series, the portfolio took five years to complete. Collected during Paolozzi’s rounds in World War II, the clippings that comprise his private collection were taken from men enlisted in the army, as well as from other sources.[3] According to his collaborator Martin Bax, Paolozzi's collection of articles, images, and magazine advertisements from which these prints were developed numbered some 300 to 400 fragments.[4]
In 1967, Paolozzi included images from both portfolios in Ambit, a quarterly literary periodical founded by Bax and published in the United Kingdom.[5] Just as Paolozzi’s imagery drew upon mass-produced media images, his artistic practice also took advantage of such approaches, following its formats and reproductive technologies, and embracing the “peculiarities which occur in commercially produced material.”[6]
The title of this work comes from a phrase in the National Association of Broadcasters' Code of Standards from 1952. The code states, “Television, and all who participate in it, are jointly accountable to the American public for respect for…decency and decorum in production.” The code was put in place to censor “sexual sin” and embarrassing “anatomical detail” on television.[7] Paolozzi plays off this old-fashioned wording, mocking the moralistic codes of television during that decade, while also hinting at their absurdity through juxtapositions of surrealist fantasy. J.G. Ballard, an English novelist and friend of Paolozzi, writes in the introductory text for General Dynamic F.U.N. that the series represents “a massive project to create from his eclectic and unique collection of twentieth century ephemera, a definitive statement on modern man and his dilemma.”[8]
By describing the work as a “unique guidebook to the electric garden of our minds,” Ballard powerfully ties Paolozzi’s imagery to the psychological conditions of the mass media age.[9] It is significant that the images in Paolozzi’s series often address issues of gender stereotypes and the presence of the human body in advertising, themes also evident in the pop prints from One Cent Life. General Dynamic F.U.N. showcases idealized representations of both men and women, illuminating visual culture both ironically and humorously to connect seemingly random images into an interconnected collage reflecting a media-rich society.
[1] The Museum of Modern Art. "General Dynamic F.U.N. | MoMA." The Museum of Modern Art. Accessed February 15, 2018. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/portfolios/68954?locale=ko.
[2] Eduardo Paolozzi, Decency and Decorum in Production, 1965-1970, General Dynamic F.U.N., London.
[3] Robin Spencer. Eduardo Paolozzi: Recurring Themes. London: Trefoil Books. 1984. 140.
[4] Martin Bax. Interview in ‘RE/Search 8/9: J.G. Ballard,’ recorded in 1983.
[5] "About," About - Ambit, accessed April 01, 2018, http://www.ambitmagazine.co.uk/about.
[6] Paolozzi, Eduardo. The Complete Prints of Eduardo Paolozzi: Prints, Drawings, Collages 1944-77. Victoria & Albert Museum, 1977.
[7] "Seal of Good Practice - USA," Television History- The First 75 Years, accessed April 19, 2018, http://www.tvhistory.tv/SEAL-Good-Practice.htm.
[8] Eduardo Paolozzi, Decency and Decorum in Production, 1965-1970, General Dynamic F.U.N., London.
[9] SouthBank Centre. "Eduardo Paolozzi: General Dynamic F.U.N." Eduardo Paolozzi: General Dynamic F.U.N | Southbank Centre. 1998. 2015. Accessed February 15, 2018. https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/about/touring
Author: Hayley Pontia - Spring 2018
Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005)
Decency and Decorum in Production, 1965-70
From the General Dynamic F.U.N. portfolio, edition of 350
Photolithograph
1981.1
Gift of Albert Finney via the Ackerman Foundation
This collage of mass media images takes its title from the National Association of Broadcasters' Code of Standards from 1952, designed to censor sexual content on television. (This is Not Ideal, Fall 2018)
In Collection
Gift of Albert Finney via the Ackerman Foundation (1981)
This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and their Transformation. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh University Art Gallery. 2018. Exhibition catalogue.
Published on the occasion of the student-curated exhibition This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and Their Transformation at the University Art Gallery, University of Pittsburgh, October 26-December 7, 2018.
University Art Gallery. Frick Fine Arts Building, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260
ISBN: 978-1-7329013-0-8
Published on the occasion of the student-curated exhibition This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and Their Transformation at the University Art Gallery, University of Pittsburgh, October 26-December 7, 2018.
University Art Gallery. Frick Fine Arts Building, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260
ISBN: 978-1-7329013-0-8
Please note that cataloging is ongoing and that some information may not be complete.