“Ragged” Perception in Eduardo Paolozzi’s Figures from the 1950s

Abstract

Stratton examines the influence of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s analytical philosophy on Eduardo Paolozzi’s collages and sculptures from the 1950s, prior to the As Is When series (1964–1965). The author uses evidence of a renewed interest in Wittgenstein among Paolozzi’s milieu, following the posthumous publication of the Philosophical Investigations in 1953 as a starting point to explore connections between Paolozzi’s concern with visual perception and Wittgenstein’s discussion of the “concept of seeing”. Richard Wollheim is presented as holding a relevant role in the diffusion of Wittgenstein among British artists at time. Stratton illustrates ways in which Paolozzi encapsulated Wittgensteinian ideas about aspect perception and family resemblances in his collages and sculptures, as well as in collaborating with the graphic designer Theo Crosby. The chapter further contextualizes this against research taking place in psychology in the 1950s about the effects of visual perception on behaviour.