Pages from the Aerospace Medical Library: Carpenter 1970

Curator: This is Sir Eduardo Paolozzi's "Pages from the Aerospace Medical Library: Carpenter," currently held in the Tate Collections. Editor: My first thought? Eerie! There's this figure, almost robotic, and that stark black and white...it feels like a lost memory of the future. Curator: Paolozzi often explored the intersection of technology and the human form. The "Carpenter" figure, repeated in the image, hints at the mechanization of labor, perhaps even of space exploration. Editor: It’s interesting the word “Carpenter” is stamped all over it; like it's been branded. Is it about the creation of the astronaut, or the destruction of something else? Curator: Paolozzi was deeply interested in the societal implications of technological advancement. This work prompts us to consider the trade-offs we make. Editor: Yes! And as a piece, it’s so unsettling, it makes you wonder, what's the cost of progress? Curator: Exactly, a disquieting but important question that Paolozzi leaves us to contemplate.