Eduardo Paolozzi is 100 years old!

 

No, he's not actually 100 years old - he would be. So what better excuse for celebrating Britain's greatest artist...

Is he Britain's greatest artist?

No, he is the Greatest Artist of the 20th Century!

Is he?

Here's how I know: of all the monographs on artists I have, anything about or featuring Paolozzi has been pulled from the shelves more than any other books. What other evidence do you need?

Do you need a book on Paolozzi? Yes. But I can't recommend just one. The Judith Collins one, simply called Eduardo Paolozzi, is very good and full of colour images. The other essential one is Writings And Interviews, edited by Robin Spencer. The link takes you to one available on Amazon at the cheapest I've seen (£92). It seems to be ex-library but I'd snap it up all the same if I was you because it's packed with interviews and texts by Paolozzi unavailable elsewhere.

My most treasured Paolozzi books are those he produced (with help) in the 60s, the 'artist's books', Kex, Abba Zaba and The Metallization Of A Dream. Another, Metafisikal Translations has eluded me so far, being too expensive. You can see my post on Kex here. Abba Zaba is featured here. The Psychological Atlas is here. The brown book with the embossed cover is The Metallization Of A Dream...

Paolozzi was born in Leith, Scotland. To celebrate his 100 anniversary Leith Athletic F.C. have produced shirts and scarves inspired by The Man. Great idea, eh? I'd buy a scarf but they've currently sold out. Wearing it in London would certainly surprise any Scottish tourists.

I'll say no more because, as you'll see if you click on the Paolozzi tab on the side, I've said quite a bit about Him on this and my other blog. Suffice to say he has been and always will be a great inspiration to me through his writings and Art. So here are more pictures...

From Bash, an unpublished novel, late-60s