The Independent Group: Modernism and Mass Culture in Britain, 1945-1959 - Hardcover

Massey, Anne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0719042445 ISBN 13: 9780719042447

Publisher: Manchester Univ Pr

Synopsis

This study looks at the artists, designers and writers who formed the Independent Group in the early 1950s including such influential figures as Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi, Nigel Henderson, William Turnball, Rayner Banham and Alison and Peter Smithson. As a group they aimed to raise the status of popular objects and icons within modern visual culture. The development of the Independent Group is mapped out against the changing nature of modernism during the Cold War era, as well as the impact of mass consumption on post-war British society. In this book, Massey examines the cultural context of the formation of the Group, covering the founding of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, the meanings of modernism, and the creation of a national identity. Key exhibitions such as "Parallel of Life and Art" and "This Is Tomorrow" are also examined.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

The major aim of this book is to offer a new understanding of the history of Independent Group. To date, the Independent Group's significance has been assessed only within the broader history of Pop Art. This book offers a fresh analysis of the Group with reference to the meaning of modernism and mass culture in post-war Britain.

About the Author:

Anne Massey is Professor of Design at Middlesex University

About this edition

• Publisher: Manchester Univ Pr
• ISBN 10: 0719042445
• ISBN 13: 9780719042447
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160