Buffalo 1962

Pauline Boty made this collage, Buffalo, using a variety of found images and mixed media. It's a work that encapsulates the Pop Art sensibility of mid-1960s Britain, a period marked by an explosion of youth culture and a fascination with mass media. The collage combines images, such as the Buffalo cigarette packaging, classical figures, and geometric patterns. Boty, as a woman artist, self-consciously challenged the male-dominated art world through the incorporation of commercial imagery. She challenged fine art by creating meaning through the placement of cultural and historical references. The juxtaposition of elements invites us to consider the social and cultural values of the time. What did popular imagery mean in the context of high art? What about the presentation of women, both in the classical tradition and in advertising? To fully understand the work, you could research the history of Pop Art in Britain, as well as the changing role of women in British society during the 1960s. Art is never made in a vacuum; it always responds to social and institutional conditions of its time.