Richard Hamilton, the original pop artist, died yesterday at the age of 89.
Hamilton wrote Modern art should be “Popular (designed for a mass audience), Transient (short-term solution), Expendable (easily forgotten), Low-cost, Mass-produced, Young (aimed at youth), Witty, Sexy, Gimmicky, Glamorous, Big Business.”
Hamilton used a wide range of materials and media from found objects, paint, typography, collage, print, digital, screen print, photography and various software, to reflect the culture of the time. One of his most well known works is his 1956 collage ‘Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?’
Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?
Swingeing London
Features Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones and Hamilton’s art dealer, Robert Fraser who were given ‘swingeing’ sentences by a judge for possession and use of illegal drugs as a deterrent to others.
Hamilton’s work perfectly reflects the times in which they were produced, with a wonderfully original spin.
Posted by Melissa Henderson on Wednesday 14th of September 2011 at 10:58am
American Psycho is a 2000 cult thriller film staring Christian Bale and directed by Mary Harron based on Bret Easton Ellis’s novel of the same name. I don’t like the film particularly, I’m not that keen on horror or psychological thrilly things. To be honest I prefer the Pixar movies when I have to choose.
However.
There is one particular scene that I love (shown below). The main character is in a meeting with his peers (who also happen to be his arch rivals). The main character – Patrick Bateman and his shallow co-workers are pitting their business cards against eachother, debating the merits of bone, eggshell, and off-white card – fonts and letterpress finishes. Bateman panics when he realizes a friend’s card is better than his because of its stylish superiority. At the end of the film my wife commented about this particular scene and how it showed the messed up character and his twisted obsession with his business card and how the scene was very creepy.
I stopped and was a bit taken aback.
From my own personal point of view, the discussion in the office had been the most normal thing IN the film. In a cinematic journey through psychotic murder in the most brutal way I thought that particular scene was to illustrate the normality of the situation. The internal monologue of Bateman mirroring the same voices in my head when I receive someone else’s business card (or other literature). Feels like uncoated 180gsm with a mat lamination on one side, 5 colour (you can’t get THAT blue out of 4 colours!) with a Spot Varnish for the Logo. Thats what goes through my head.
The arguments still rage (and will continue to do so) about what constitutes real art fuelled by the work of such controversial artists as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin versus the more traditional art of Constable and Van Gogh to name a few. One could say that everything is art, and according to one artist, that includes us.
Alexa Meade, a self taught US artist, paints her subjects literally! Daubing their bodies and clothes with acrylic paint, she then photographs them with her painted props and backgrounds to create living, breathing art.
To quote Meade herself ‘seeing is not necessarily believing’. Check out her website if you want to see more… www.alexameade.com
Posted by Maria Wild on Wednesday 24th of August 2011 at 11:03am
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