55
Richard Hamilton
Composer Series
1972
Four offset prints and postcards, on wove paper,
all I. 14.5 x 14.5 cm (5 3/4 x 5 3/4 in);
all S. 25.3 x 25 cm (9 7/8 x 9 7/8 in)
all S. 25.3 x 25 cm (9 7/8 x 9 7/8 in)
signed and numbered 37/50, 46/50, 47/50, and 48/50 respectively in pencil (there were also 5 artist’s proofs), and inscribed ‘Wish you were here – Richard’ in black ink on the reverse, published by Studio Marconi, Milan, all generally in very good condition, all framed.
Full-Cataloguing
Each offset print comprises a unique postcard of Milan, with Hamilton’s ‘composer’ laid over the top and framed together as a multiple. The ‘composer’ developed from Hamilton’s 1969 conceptual Chicago Project, in which he instructed Ed Paschke, a young Chicago artist, to: ‘Take a piece of paper, 1 inch high by 1 ½ inches wide. The hole should be square with a corner of the paper, 1 inch to the left of the right hand edge and ¾ inch from the bottom edge.’ The resulting ‘composer’ could be placed over any postcard to isolate an unexpected portion of the image and thereby unburden the artist of aesthetic responsibility.