Richard Hamilton’s name may not have the same mainstream pop art currency as Andy Warhol but his 'Just What Is It That Makes Today's Home So Different, So Appealing?’ collage from 1956 is one of the earliest works to fall into the pop art bracket. Hamilton was also responsible for the 'Swingeing London' series of prints based on Mick Jagger's arrest for possession of drugs in the mid 1960s and produced the cover design and poster collage for the Beatles' White Album so the guy has some serious pop credibility. It's his slightly more serious, political works though that are now on show at London's Serpentine Gallery in an exhibition that explores international politics, riots, terrorist acts and war, examining how these conflicts are represented by the media, including via television and the internet.
According to Hamilton “in the Fifties we became more aware of the possibility of seeing the whole world, at once, through the great visual matrix that surrounds us, a synthetic ‘instant’ view. Cinema, television, magazines, newspapers flooded the artist with a total landscape.” This exhibition clearly reflects this awareness, challenging the representations that surround everyone whilst at the same time reinvigorating the genres of portraiture and history painting. It's the perfect mix of old and new, skill and scale, acceptance and rebellion. The exhibition runs until 25 April. Go see (www.serpentinegallery.org).
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