Artist Research - Richard Hamilton

 Richard Hamilton

Richard William Hamilton CH was an English painter and collage artist. He was born in London, 24th of February, 1922 and died on the 13th of September, 2011, aged 89. Richard received his education at the Royal Academy Schools from 1938-1940 (which he later returned to in 1946), later on studied engineering draughtsmanship  in 1940 , then worked as a 'jig and tool' designer. Finally, in 1948-51 he attended the Slade School of Art.

 

Richard Hamilton, Fashion-Plate 1969-70

Medium: Lithograph, screenprint, pochoir and cosmetic on paper,

Image: 749 x 650 mm

Ref: P07937

Richard liked to comment on pop-culture, media, and current events. I believe with this piece he may be showing a distortion of that pop world that people go out and seek, however due to the careful composition and aesthetically pleasing colour palette it shows his appreciation and love for it.  With collages you rip materials up to create something knew and distorted yet beautiful. " The artist in the twentieth-century urban life is inevitably a consumer of mass culture and potentially a contributor to it." R. Hamilton. By spending time in America and befriending artists such as Andy Warhol, he dug deeper to show his audience his opinions and contradictions of society then. 

In this piece he uses a range of techniques and mixed media. I like how he incorporated it all and added cosmetics on paper for authenticity to tie the whole message together of consumerism, beauty and the pop culture. The style of the lady is interesting as he combined a pastel blue eye makeup look that was very prevalent in the 70's, yet the hair is very 50's housewife which again may be inspired by American pop art which he was fond of and did many works based on it. The large scale of this piece makes a great impact on the audience especially since the portrait is in the centre, making it a clear focal point for attention. The work is very minimalistic in my opinion, which is very different to his other art work as it was full of many elements from cut out magazines to a variety of media layered on  paintings or photograph. This is why I really like Hamilton's work as he never got shy or intimidated by trying new things as he did printmaking, installation, typography and industrial design. It inspires me to do some collages of my own and see the outcomes I would get. 

Critics believe that he Richard Hamilton was the one of the many artists that highly contributed to Pop Art, " Somehow, Hamilton sensed the direction in which contemporary art was moving - and his brilliant collage is full of images that function like signs to point the way." - Alastair Sooke (critic of The Daily Telegraph). I think that it's true, as he produced many pieces that are exhibited to this day, and the relevancy proves that he is the master mind behind Pop Art as a movement. Overall, I love his work for their hidden messages and jabs at society, culture and politics, Style wise, it's very contemporary even though he's been working around 60 years - he has never lost sight of what's important to him. 

Tate. 2020. ‘Fashion-Plate’, Richard Hamilton, 1969–70 | Tate. [online] Available at: <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hamilton-fashion-plate-p07937> [Accessed 23 December 2020].

Hamilton, R., 2020. Richard Hamilton Biography, Life & Quotes. [online] The Art Story. Available at: <https://www.theartstory.org/artist/hamilton-richard/life-and-legacy/> [Accessed 23 December 2020].

Youtube.com. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emhbZd6WqsA> [Accessed 23 December 2020].

Bbc.com. 2020. Richard Hamilton And The Work That Created Pop Art. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150824-richard-hamilton-and-the-work-that-created-pop-art> [Accessed 23 December 2020].

Theweek.co.uk. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/57303/richard-hamilton-reviews-major-show-tate-and-ica> [Accessed 23 December 2020].