19. Electric Arms and Hands also Showing Love is Better than Ever 1972

Curator: This is a page from a publication featuring Eduardo Paolozzi's "Electric Arms & Hands also Showing Love is Better than Ever." Editor: Right away, the collage creates an odd juxtaposition, a clinical coldness alongside something sentimental, almost cheesy. Curator: Paolozzi frequently used collage to explore the relationship between humans and technology, often drawing from mass media. Note the medical article about electric limbs alongside an advertisement for a musical film. Editor: The means of production are key here. These images are mass produced, clipped, re-contextualized. It speaks to a kind of cultural consumption and reconstruction. Curator: I agree. Paolozzi is asking us to consider how societal advancements intersect with our emotional lives, perhaps even critiquing the superficiality of popular culture. Editor: It makes you wonder about labor and the body. What kind of physical effort went into both the creation of these prosthetics and the performances depicted? Curator: It's a provocative piece, highlighting the evolving human experience. Editor: Yes, and how that experience gets mediated, packaged, and sold back to us.