“David” by Michelangelo

The Tate Gallery, London (the UK).

Plaster, plywood, ropes.

The artist once noticed the plaster head of David Michelangelo in the shop window, where it was placed on a wooden chest of drawers. This strange combination inspired Eduardo Paolozzi, and he created a copy of this cast, cut it into several parts, between which he placed wooden inserts. The artist connected everything using a rope. The unusual composition hints at a protest against academicism in art. It is associated with the riots that students of the Munich Academy started in 1972; because of them, a large collection of antique gypsum sculptures stored at the academy was damaged.