Art Two - Blog 14 - Richard Hamilton

Richard Hamilton (1922-2011) - British
In his celebrated collages, Richard Hamilton explored the relationship between fine art, product design, and popular culture, setting the stage for Pop art. His most iconic work, Just What Is it that Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? (first example below, 1956)—a scene comprised of images cut from magazines ads, showing a semi-nude couple in their living space—was produced for the groundbreaking exhibition “This is Tomorrow,” organized by the Independent Group at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London in 1956. Throughout his career, Hamilton continued to break down hierarchies of artistic value, making silkscreens of Mick Jagger’s drug arrest, producing studies of industrial design objects (like toasters), and designing the cover of the Beatles’ 1968White Album.

The above collage is his most famous.