“Stop and look closely at this graphic depiction of an Alka Seltzer tablet dissolving. It's a fascinating example of how everyday commercial imagery was transformed into art, using techniques that mimic mechanical reproduction to create a sense of movement and volume.”
A tall glass, perfectly centered, holds a fizzing tablet that dissolves into a cloud of bubbles. This artwork, titled "Alka Seltzer," captures a mundane moment with striking graphic precision. Created in 1966, it reflects a period when artists began to look to commercial imagery for inspiration. The reductive style here, with its bold lines and stark contrasts, echoes the visual language of advertising and comic strips. Notice how the artist meticulously scraped away areas from a field of hand-stenciled dots to create the illusion of rising gas bubbles. Flat black graphite shapes signify the reflective surface of the glass, a clever parody of the simplified effects seen in pulp advertising. This piece distills early graphic techniques, exploring how everyday visual representations can be magnified and transformed into art.
- Artist
- Phyllis Seltzer
- Date
- 1966
- Medium
- Graphite and lithographic rubbing crayon pochoir, with scraping, on cream wove paper, fixed
- Location
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Dimensions
- 76.3 × 56.7 cm (30 1/16 × 22 3/8 in.)
- Collection
- Prints and Drawings
- Culture
- United States
- Credit line
- Margaret Fisher Endowment
What to Notice
Five details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.
The tiny white dots that make up the background field, mimicking a printing technique.
The scraped-away areas that form the fizzing bubbles, creating movement and light.
The sharp, flat black shapes that define the glass, suggesting reflections without detail.
The single, dissolving tablet at the bottom of the glass.
1 more detail is waiting.
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Phyllis Seltzer
1928 · United StatesPhyllis Seltzer turned city skylines and fire into bold prints, working across woodcut, lithography, and heat transfer well into her 70s.
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Roy Lichtenstein · 1966 · Art Institute of Chicago
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