Peter pops in

By PRSD, on Thursday, February 9, 2006

‘It’s nice to re-open links with the West Country,’ said Sir Peter Blake.
He was in Exeter, at the Eyestorm Gallery on the quay, which is showing a selection of his work.
It’s a body called Found Art, the godfather of British Pop Art told me, explaining the diverse, eclectic, but oddly homogenous mass of images.
‘They are all special memorable objects,’ he said.
And what makes them memorable?
‘They are part of my collection,’ he said as if it was an answer.
But for me it was, and was I going to stand there and argue the toss with the man whose cigarette packets, magazine pictures and other memorablia made up the quintessential Englishness of the British Pop Art Movement, paving the way for Hamiliton (Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Diffent, So Appealing?) and Hockney (Splash, Bradford boy etc) (and of course others whose names don’t start with ‘H’)?
So that was that, and I left him to reminisce with Ruralists Annie and Graham Ovenden (who were very pleasant), with whose brotherhood he once belonged.
And I suppose that gives me enough credibility to mention the Sgt Pepper’s album cover, or if you prefer, I remember watching him award last year’s Turner prize to ceramicist Grayson Perry – I’m sure Sir Peter was wearing the same suit (stylish and black, possibly Crombie). I was going to ask if it was, and when he bought it, but I suspect it was 20 years ago today. . .