"It is a good recipe for an artist to persist with a task, to head for the often drawn mountain, to set up the familiar still life: return to the same spot and dig a little deeper." - Tom Phillips, on his blog (6 April 2010, wherein also lies mention of the design of the 50p coin commemorating Johnson's Dictionary)
I'm pleased to have come across Tom Phillips' blog - his work had an enormous influence on me, years ago - his many different projects, his industry, and his enjoyment of making new and unexpected types of art. Like the Women's Work "quilts" made out of prostitutes' cards found in phone boxes, before the days when everyone had a mobile phone. The wire writing, the painted biography in 20 panels, the work with postcards, the Humument of course - and 20 sites N years, which impressed my son as a teenager when we saw the slideshow at the Tate. And more - get an idea of the variety of work on his website or here.
The first piece of Phillips' work I encountered was the frontispiece to Dante's Inferno, in the British Library when it was still housed at the British Museum, and before his translation of the book was published. I took time to read the copious caption, and what looked like a simple picture became rich with references, things I wouldn't have thought about and some I'd never heard of. It was definitely a wake-up moment.
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