Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Roland Penrose. It dates from 1968 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
You see a small, jagged piece of paper with a photo of a bush glued to it, held up by a hand cut from another photo.
You see a small, jagged piece of paper with a photo of a bush glued to it, held up by a hand cut from another photo.
This was part of a 1968 art portfolio called *S.M.S.*—short for "Shit Must Stop." Artists mailed each other weird, cheap, playful works. Penrose’s piece feels like a quick joke: nature held in a human grip.
If you like this kind of playful collage, look up the technique lithography.
Overview
Untitled is a 1968 cut and collaged offset lithograph by Roland Penrose, currently in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art.
Subject & Meaning
The work depicts a small, jagged paper fragment bearing a photographed bush, held aloft by a hand cut from a separate photo, juxtaposing natural elements with human intervention in a playful, humorous manner.
Technique & Style
The piece exemplifies a casual, experimental approach, characteristic of its creation context. The use of cut and collaged offset lithography contributes to its informal, almost ephemeral quality.
History & Provenance
Untitled was part of the *S.M.S.* portfolio (1968), a project where artists exchanged unconventional, whimsical works by mail. The title *S.M.S.* is often interpreted as 'Shit Must Stop', reflecting the era's avant-garde spirit.
Context
Created amidst a period favoring experimental art practices, this work aligns with the collaborative, irreverent ethos of the late 1960s art scene, where traditional mediums were reimagined for playful, conceptual ends.
Artist & collection
Artist
Sir Roland Algernon Penrose was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom. During the Second World War he put…
