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Richard Hamilton, just what was it...

the rare and important laser print in colours, 1992, signed and inscribed John's Proof in pencil, one of 3 artist's proofs aside from the edition of 25, on Mellotex paper, with full margins, in good, fresh condition, 262 x 250mm.

***Undoubtedly Hamilton's most famous image and the enduring, iconic emblem of British Pop Art, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing, was first produced as an original collage for the Whitechapel exhibition 'This is Tomorrow' in 1956. The inspiration for the work seems came from exhibition itself. The artist set about producing an artwork specifically for this show, wishing to find a new image that would fit its curatorial ethos. Gathering together images of cultural commodities he found in popular magazines, in a process that may be described as self-confessed plagiarism, Hamilton himself listed the categories which he felt needed to be covered as: Man, Woman, Food, History, Newspapers, Cinema, Domestic Appliances, Cars, Space, Comics, TV, Telephone, Information. The final selection of images was determined by their ability to relate convincingly to the perspective space he was building up. That said, the final reading of the resultant work must always be considered an allegory rather than mere representation of a modern interior, as these objects soon became "myths of consumerist desire" as Sarat Maharaj, curator of the Tate exhibition, 1992, puts it. Another commentator goes a bit further "the work seems to define the dreams and aspirations of an entire era", Andrew Graham-Dixon, The independent Magazine (15th June 1991). Coinciding with the Tate Gallery retrospective, the BBC approached Hamilton in 1992 to take part in a half hour programme that looked at the latest developments in computer-image manipulation. For the artist this was a perfect opportunity to take another look at the now infamous collage 'Today's homes' and re-work the image with modern techniques. Using the Quantel Desktop Paintbox, the artist cleaned up the image, enjoying the process so much that a small edition of 25 was produced, bearing the original title but in the historic tense 'Yesterday's homes'. This present example was given to the Pop Art curator John Russell, a close friend of the artist, one of only 3 proofs the artist made..

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