Richard Hamilton, one of the founders British Pop Art of the 20th century, deceased yesterday at the age of 89 years.
The above collage entitled “Just what it is that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?”, created in 1965 was his most famous piece of art. Apart from experimenting with collages, he was well received with his paintings and sculptures. Most of his pieces had in common a cynical view of the consumption patterns of the modern urban culture.
He studied at the Royal Academy in London, but was expelled when he defied the instructions of the tutor. He continued at Slade School of Fine Arts and in 1952 he founded in London together with architects the Independent Group at the Institute of Contemporary Art.
Despite his involvement with Pop Art, he considered himself a traditional painter; he was interested in the integration of old school artistic practices with modern iconographic themes produced by the industry of modern media. He also worked as a printer, graphic designer, digital image manipulator and photographer depending on the subject of his every work.
Hamilton was preparing a major retrospective of his work, which will be launched in London, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Madrid.
Source: BBC News
