DEREK BOSHIER RETHINK/RE-ENTRY

At Yeovil School of Art in Somerset from 1953-1957, Derek Boshier demonstrated the graphic abilities - via a sketchbook of pencil and ink drawings, some coloured with crayon or gouache - of local scenes and European townscapes such as Vourbourg, Amsterdam (fig.5) that have characterised so much of his subsequent work. These images, based on direct observation, have made a lively contribution to social realism. Boshier was the subject of the innovative 1962 TV documentary Pop Goes the Easel, directed by Ken Russell for the BBC's prestigious art strand Monitor. Boshier became a formidable figure in contemporary art, springing from the British Pop Art movement of the 1960s alongside Sir Peter Blake and David Hockney with whom he studied at the Royal College of Art in the very next booth. His engagement with politics and popular culture is notable through his work with David Bowie and The Clash, and in the 21st century he remains a challenging and vibrant spirit, regularly exhibiting new work alongside younger artists. The book title is named after Bryan Ferry's first song on Roxy Music's debut LP. It traces the artist?s career and subsequent abandonment of painting in the late 1960s and 70s during which time Boshier investigated assemblages and collage, book works, set design and illustration as well as photography, film and sculpture. This experimentation with fresh modes of expression included record sleeve and stage sets for Bowie, and the visually explosive CLASH 2nd Songbook, and his role in curating the controversial group show Live at the Hayward Gallery in 1979. Relocation to Los Angeles in the 1990s provided Boshier with rich source material. Hollywood, celebrity, tabloid culture, US foreign policy and technology are preoccupations, the latter manifested by the use of smartphones and apps as recurring motifs. Recently Boshier has created new film works using his iPad. The book features essays by leading academics, curators, critics and practitioners and includes 302 big bold colourful illustrations. A Thames & Hudson 2015 first edition, 24 x 29.5cm.
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