Touted the Father of Pop Art, Richard Hamilton (born February 24, 1922) is a painter and collage artist from London. As a teen, he studied art by taking courses in the evenings. Following this, he studied painting at the Royal Academy School from 1938 to 1940. It was then that Hamilton decided to become an industrial designer.
Following this brief stint in industrial design (1941 to 1945), Hamilton resumed his studies of painting in 1946. These studies lead to the creation of the collage, which he is famous for, “Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?”
This particular piece, collaged in 1956, was originally created to be a poster. The completed poster collage was deemed the start to what is now referred to as English Pop Art. Hamilton admits he likes the earning potential of the piece, but is growing bored. "How does he feel about this supposedly seminal work now? ;"I'm rather bored with it but it's a nice little earner!"' [source]
In 1963, Richard Hamilton traveled to New York. There, he began the exploration of using photography in mixed-media paintings. These explorations and experiments lead to the study of digital media in his artwork, which he continued to conduct throughout the 1980’s.
During the 1980's, he is viewed as the inventor of conceptual art. "If Richard Hamilton were American, he'd be far more famous than he is. Anybody who can be credited with founding both pop art in the 1950s and conceptual art in the 1980s deserves more than a footnote in the art history books." [source]
In 1992, The Tate Gallery in London showed a complete historical view chronicling Hamilton’s entire career. Critics gave this showing poor reviews and Hamilton, himself, believed critics felt this show was the worst ever.
"When I showed at the Tate in 1992 almost every critic hated it. At Christmas there was a thing in the newspaper: what's the worst exhibition of the year? I won!" [source] Hamilton’s work can still be viewed at Tate Gallery.
During February of 2002, a book of Richard Hamilton’s illustrations was published. Along with his own writings, text was also delivered by Stephen Coppel. In the book, Hamilton talks about how he spent 50 years re-working and refining his sketches illustrations using different types of media. Hamilton is still creating, painting, and looking for new ways to reinvent the traditional definition of art.
His work:
- Tate Collection: Richard Hamilton
- Richard Hamilton on ArtNet
- Richard Hamilton | Artist and Art
Sources:
Guardian.co.uk
BBC.co.uk
