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Acrobats

Print
1968 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925-2006) was a poet and artist, best known for his involvement with the 1960s 'concrete poetry' movement, and latterly for 'Little Sparta', the garden he created at his home in Lanarkshire. Although he took poetry into three dimensional formats, his earliest ideas were worked out in print.

This print, 'Acrobats', is a vivid example of the way in which he used text as image, with the letters making up the title repeated at regular intervals across the sheet, the colours and composition wittily embodying the idea of energetic leaping and tumbling in mid-air.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleAcrobats (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Screenprint on paper
Brief description
Print, screenprint on paper, Acrobats, Ian Hamilton Finlay, 1968
Physical description
A portrait format print with letters spelling out the word 'Acrobats' repeatedly, scattered at regular intervals across the surface. In red on blue.
Dimensions
  • Height: 53.5cm
  • Width: 38cm
Credit line
Given anonymously
Production
Though the date of publication for this print is generally given as 1966, more recent research has confirmed that it was actually published in 1968.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925-2006) was a poet and artist, best known for his involvement with the 1960s 'concrete poetry' movement, and latterly for 'Little Sparta', the garden he created at his home in Lanarkshire. Although he took poetry into three dimensional formats, his earliest ideas were worked out in print.

This print, 'Acrobats', is a vivid example of the way in which he used text as image, with the letters making up the title repeated at regular intervals across the sheet, the colours and composition wittily embodying the idea of energetic leaping and tumbling in mid-air.
Collection
Accession number
E.275-2009

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Record createdApril 24, 2009
Record URL
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