Curious, humorous and anonymous: Ian Harris’s Argos art postcard interventions

Feb 18th, 2017

/A selection of the 60 appended cards Harris placed in London art gallery and museum shops. No reproduction without permission//

//The Death Of Marat, Jacques-Louis David, 1793. No reproduction without permission//

//Charles I, Daniel Mytens, 1631. Card from National Portrait Gallery. No reproduction without permission//

Ian Harris is a man of many parts, having been at various stages in his life a successful graphic artist, fashion designer, homewares retailer and musician/performer, notably with late 60s blues-rock group The Earth and as his mod revival alter ego Terry Tonik.

Just this week Harris let me in on a curious, humorous and anonymous public intervention series he staged in London galleries and museums a few years back.

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Tags: Augustus Leopold Egg, Ball At The Moulin De La Galette, Charles I, Cornelius Johnson, Daniel Mytens, Gerlach Flicke, Ian Harris, Imperial War Museum, Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Francois Millet, Joe Orton, John Betjeman, John Everett Millais, Kenneth Halliwell, Mariana, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Past And Present No 1, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Tate Britain, Terry Tonik, The Capel Family, The Death Of Marat, The Earth, The Gleaners, Thomas Cranmer

Derek Boshier: Rethink/Re-Entry – assembling the materials for long overdue monograph

Feb 5th, 2014

//Exhibition cards and private view invitations, 1973 to date//

I’m assembling materials for Rethink/Re-Entry, the long-overdue monograph of the great British artist Derek Boshier I am currently editing.

The book takes its title from the early Boshier painting which inspired rock’s ultimate art-directed star Bryan Ferry to choose the name Remake/Remodel for the first track on Roxy Music’s game-changing debut LP.

//Rethink/Re-entry, oil on canvas, 1962//

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Tags: 1979, Bryan Ferry, Central Saint Martin's School Of Art, David Bowie, David Hockney, Hayward Gallery, Joe Strummer, Let's Dance, Lodger, Loves, Remake/Remodel, Rethink/Re-entry, Richard Hollis, Roxy Music, Steve Johnston, Thames & Hudson, The Clash, Whitechapel Gallery

Postcard + badge: Clandestine London

Oct 31st, 2011

Clandestine London – the latest guide from Herb Lester Associates – is launched this week at a suitably discreet address in the capital.
Above is the invitation postcard. And here is the badge which guarantees entry.

Check out HLA’s online journal here.

Tags: Clandestine London, Herb lester Associates

Postcards: Carnaby Street 1966

Aug 16th, 2011

This postcard’s over-amped application of colour (despite the “natural” tag on the back) contrasts deeply with the dowdiness of the buildings and the appearances of the inhabitants of the Swinging London über strasse on a summer’s day in 1966.

The disconnect – between projected lifestyle and everyday reality – sums up the 60s.

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Tags: 1966, Carnaby Street, CE Fudge, David Vaughan, Douglas Binder, Dudley Edwards, Lord John, Warren Gold

Beatbooks 58: Psychedelia

Jul 19th, 2011

Psychedelics – in the form of art, design, drugs, literature, music and the counter-culture – dominate the latest catalogue from BeatBooks.

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Tags: Alan Aldridge, Allen Ginsberg, BeatBooks, Bob Dylan, Gene Sculatti, Grateful Dead, Hapshash & The Coloured Coat, Isle Of Wight Festival, Jimi Hendrix, Ken Kesey, Merry Pranksters, Monterey Pop, Richard Alpert, Rick Griffin, Robert Crumb, Timothy Leary

I Like A Bit Of A Cavort: Sukia – The Dream Machine

May 27th, 2011

My favourite group of the mid 90s were the antithesis of Britpop, which was alright with me.

Sukia came out of Silverlake with a vaguely sinister vibe, a clutch-bag of odd samples and a whole other set of references, many from Mexican-American trash culture. Their 1997 single The Dream Machine is a jump-up staple.

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Tags: 1997, Contacto Espacial con el Tercer Sexo, Ojai, Sukia, The Dream Machine