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ACHESON GO HOME

© The Estate of R.B. Kitaj

ACHESON GO HOME 1963/64

R B Kitaj (1932 – 2007)

Details

Dimension
73 X 53.5 CM
Media
SCREENPRINT
Accession number
P1723

Summary

From 1963 until the mid 1970s Kitaj made a number of screenprints incorporating photography and text which mixed collaged elements with drawing. This work is one of the earliest prints of that period, and was made with Chris Prater at the Kelpra Studio. Initially, Kitaj was doubtful screenprinting could produce satisfactory results. His early prints were based on prepared collages with the design drawn on a grid for the printer, so he could not only keep control but also ensure the outcome. The original collage for Acheson Go Home is now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, (www.vam.ac.uk). The collage combined a range of material including a torn sheet of anti-American propaganda, photographs and a fragment of a book dust-jacket. The red stain in the lower part of the work came from a drop of blood on the original college.

Dean Acheson was American Secretary of State 1949-1953

 

Glossary

  • Collage

    The two-dimensional form of assemblage made by affixing paper, card, photographs, fabric and other objects to a flat surface. It is often combined with painting and drawing techniques. This technique was first introduced by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in 1912 during their phase of synthetic cubism.

  • Design

    The arrangement of elements or details in an artefact or a work of art.

  • Drawing

    The depiction of shapes and forms on a flat surface chiefly by means of lines although colour and shading may also be included. Materials most commonly used are pencil, ink, crayon, charcoal, chalk and pastel, although other materials, including paint, can be used in combination.