Hybrid Project: Richard Hamilton

Portrait of Hugh Gaitskell as a Famous Monster of Filmland
Richard Hamilton

The collage, Portrait of Hugh Gaitskell as a Famous Monster of Filmland, is a form of propaganda by Richard Hamilton. As Hamilton was very active in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, this particular work parodies Labour Party Leader, Gaitskell, for rejecting unilateral nuclear disarmament, despite the views of his party members. This caused Gaitskell to lose the election in 1960. As the foreground to a crimson background, Hugh Gaitskell is depicted abstractly.

Several contrasts are evident in Portrait of Hugh Gaitskell as a Famous Monster of Filmland. Below Gaitskell's top lip, the image is in black and white. Above, the image contains a wide spectrum of colors. To the left Gaitskell's face is highlighted with "cold" colors. His eye appears almost as a deer's would in headlights. The right side of Gaitskell's face is warm, however. This eye seems lazy and sad.

The placement of each eye seems reversed. I would imagine that the left eye would be on the right side of the face with the warmer colors. The combination would have a more definite emotion of anger or passion. The right eye should be placed on the left with the cooler colors. This would depict sadness and tiredness.

I presume that Richard Hamilton's placement of the eyes was on purpose. To me, it tells the story behind Hugh Gaitskell's tension within the Labour Party. As its leader, Gaitskell must have felt sad over the party's disagreement, tired over trying to come to a common consensus, angry with those who did not agree with him, and passionate towards promoting his cause. Although this collage is supposed to make fun of Gaitskell, I believe it makes the subject's instability evident to the viewer. Potrait of Hugh Gaitskell as a Famous Monster of Filmland mocks Gaitskell's inability to keep his party unified and promote his party's beliefs.