17. Has Jazz a Future? 1972

Editor: So this collage, "17. Has Jazz a Future?" by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, seems to juxtapose the glamour of a magazine cover with something much darker, almost industrial. What do you make of this combination? Curator: Ah, Paolozzi! Always poking at the shiny surface of things. I see a reflection of wartime anxieties, you know? Like, is our culture just going to be frivolous entertainment while the world’s falling apart? I wonder, what tunes were being played? Editor: That’s a great question! I hadn’t thought about the specific context. Curator: The collage asks if Jazz has a future; what about the future of us all? Paolozzi forces us to confront that question head-on. He’s really good at that, isn’t he? Editor: Definitely food for thought! I’ll never look at collage the same way again.