Blimey!: From Bohemia to Britpop : The London Artworld from Francis Bacon to Damien Hirst
This unusual volumeApart art history, part journalism, and part diaryAoffers a crash course on the Pop Art scene in London from roughly the Sixties onward and does so with intelligence and humor. Collings has spent his life in this artistic environment, and he writes with an insider's ease. In an engaging mix of anecdote, critique, and discussion, he presents a somewhat wild potpourri of the lives, unusual habits, and creations of such individuals as Damien Hirst, John Stezaker, R.B. Kitaj, and David Hockney, to name only a very few. Along the way he takes a look at various trends from Shock Art to Pop to the School of London, including the philosophies of each as well as a descriptive sampling of the works of their various adherents. Lavish illustrations range from the beautiful to the strange to the shocking. Don't let the breezy tone fool youAthis book is filled with a wealth of solid information. Recommended for all contemporary art collections.ACarol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.