Collage for F-111 1964

James Rosenquist made this collage, called *Collage for F-111*, from paper and other materials. It's like a brainstorm, a process made visible. I love how the image combines the glamour of a '60s salon with something harder and more mechanical. Look at the chrome helmets! The pinks are soft and feminine, but also a little acidic, maybe even sinister. The collage is physical; you can see how the different pieces were put together and layered. The tape at the top is a reminder of the studio, the making. The F-111 was a fighter plane, but it was also a symbol of American consumerism and Cold War anxieties. I think this collage plays with those themes, suggesting the strange connections between beauty, technology, and destruction. Like Warhol, Rosenquist was interested in how mass media shapes our perceptions. His work really embraces the contradictions and ambiguities of modern life. It’s a conversation, not a lecture.