Man Caught Up with a Yellow Object
- Artist: John Latham
- Date: 1954
- Medium: Oil paint and commercial emulsion paint on hardboard
- Dimensions: support: 1221 x 977 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Man Caught Up with a Yellow Object” by John Latham. Created in 1954, the work shows Latham’s experimental spirit: he sprayed black paint onto a grey background using an electrically operated pump that kept breaking down. The pump’s hiccups spewed large blobs of paint, which Latham welcomed as a “sense of the unexpected.” From this haze a fragmented figure begins to emerge, hinting at the post‑war anxieties of alienation and the perceived futility of individual action that were common in the 1950s.
The bright yellow object in the centre is a deliberate counterpoint – Latham viewed it as a symbol of enlightenment. Tiny dots of spray paint, scattered across the canvas, represent moments of time that together constitute reality. The medium is oil paint and commercial emulsion on hardboard, with a thin, almost translucent layer of grey paint that allows the underlying board to peek through in places, adding depth and texture.
Latham’s process is clear from the artist’s own interview: he mixed a thin grey layer of white, black, and a touch of red to warm the tones before applying the sprayed black. The final figure is applied the following day, giving the piece a layered, almost gestural quality. The reverse of the hardboard shows a failed experiment with oil and a decorating powder, adding an extra layer of history to the canvas.
See it in person
Man Caught Up with a Yellow Object is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
