Tony Palladino created this indelible image for a 1989 SVA poster (above on the cover of a Continuing Education bulletin). The Dee Ito-penned tag line, “Even a great idea is only an idea until you make it real,” was used on many subway posters, but I think this is its very best application, where the transformation of the hub cap occurs within the frame of the poster, illustrating process. Palladino loves highlighting found objects in his work, but he is also a sculptor and this one of the few instances where he merged those two modes of creation. We recently scanned a series of slides from the Palladino collection and discovered a number of other hubcaps turned hats.
June 26, 2014