Hidden Mod in Modern Art - London, 1957-1969

The Mod subculture of late 1950s London had a significant impact on the city's art scene in the 1960s, influencing artists such as Robyn Denny, David Hockney, Pauline Boty, Bridget Riley, and Bruce McLean. This book explores the influence of the Mod on these artists and the broader postwar metropolis, highlighting the excitement and complexity of the urban environment.

Format: Hardback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 02 October 2020
Publisher: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

The Mod subculture had a significant impact on prominent figures in the 1960s London art scene, who bonded over their shared interests in Italian-style suits, tidy haircuts, espresso bars, Vespa scooters, and the latest American jazz. In his groundbreaking book, renowned art historian Thomas Crow argues that the Mod figure went beyond its perceived social boundaries by representing the postwar metropolis in all its excitement and complexity. Crow delves into the works of key artists in the London art scene of the 1960s, such as Robyn Denny, David Hockney, Pauline Boty, Bridget Riley, and Bruce McLean, who shared and enhanced aspects of this new and youthful urbanity. The arrival of the international counterculture prompted both young Mods and established artists to reevaluate and reorganize in innovative and revealing ways. Understanding the London Mod necessitates a fresh and up-to-date engagement with the legacies of Situationism, Social Art History, and Cultural Studies.
This book is distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.

Weight: 706g
Dimension: 175 x 247 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781913107130