Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a graphite work on paper by Antonio Caro. It dates from 1974 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
The logo’s red and white pops against scribbled blue circles and scribbled-out letters, making ads look cheap and disposable.
This collage piles bright Marlboro cigarette ads and hand-drawn text on a small sheet. The logo’s red and white pops against scribbled blue circles and scribbled-out letters, making ads look cheap and disposable. It’s like the artist cut up a magazine and made it shout.
Caro used pasted paper and colored pencil to turn ads into art. He did this in 1974, when ads were just starting to take over daily life.
Look up Antonio Caro next.
Overview
Untitled is a 1974 collage by Antonio Caro, a Colombian conceptual artist, made from cut-and-pasted colored and printed paper, pencil, and colored pencil on paper.
Subject & Meaning
The work critiques consumer culture by subverting Marlboro cigarette advertisements, rendering them cheap and disposable through scribbles and cancellations.
Technique & Style
Caro employed unconventional materials and techniques, layering commercial imagery with hand-drawn elements to create a visually jarring effect.
Context
Created in 1974, the work coincided with the growing presence of advertising in daily life, reflecting Caro's engagement with national concerns through accessible media.
Artist & collection
Artist
Antonio José Caro Lopera (10 December 1950 – 29 March 2021) was a Colombian conceptual artist who created works since the late 1960s.
