Apollo 1970

Rudy Pozzatti made this print, Apollo, sometime in the 20th century. Look at all of those mottled blues and greens, the strange juxtapositions of flat shapes and figures, and the overlapping images. I'm trying to imagine what it was like to make it: layering up the inks, wiping them back, pressing the plate onto paper. What was Pozzatti thinking about when he decided to put astronauts floating above lunar phases? Did he want us to contemplate the sublime grandeur of space travel or something else? There's a strange kind of atmosphere that feels very much of its time, mixing Pop Art-like juxtapositions with the more expressive and mysterious language of printmaking. You see it across generations of painters, from Robert Rauschenberg to contemporary painters like Ellen Gallagher. Ultimately, it's a reminder that every artist stands on the shoulders of those who came before, interpreting and transforming ideas for their own time.