Square Eye
Design
1968 (made)
1968 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This is one of a set of drawings and printed images in the V&A's collection by artist John Hurford. Hurford was one of the key figures in the explosion of psychedelic imagery in Britain in the late 1960s. His drawings, mainly executed in pen and ink and enlivened by brilliant washes of coloured inks, were reproduced as posters and illustrations in the leading Underground publications of the day, including Oz, IT and Gandalf's Garden.
Hurford's meticulously and minutely-particularised drawing style was coupled with his fascination with natural plant and tree forms. They gave his work a direct appeal to the hippy generation, who either aspired to get back to the simpler country life or who, as city-dwellers, nurtured a romanticised dream of rural existence.
Hurford's meticulously and minutely-particularised drawing style was coupled with his fascination with natural plant and tree forms. They gave his work a direct appeal to the hippy generation, who either aspired to get back to the simpler country life or who, as city-dwellers, nurtured a romanticised dream of rural existence.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Square Eye (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | Black Indian ink on white paper. |
Brief description | Drawing, ink, 'Square Eye' by John Hurford, England, 1968. |
Physical description | Abstract image consisting of a woman's face to the right, and covering most of the page an irregular pattern comprising bird, flower and plant forms, and birds' eyes, with a black patch to the left. In the centre an owls head and a long beaked bird within a central 'peak'. |
Dimensions |
|
Marks and inscriptions | John / Hurford [copyright symbol] 1968 (Lower centre.) |
Credit line | Given by the artist |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This is one of a set of drawings and printed images in the V&A's collection by artist John Hurford. Hurford was one of the key figures in the explosion of psychedelic imagery in Britain in the late 1960s. His drawings, mainly executed in pen and ink and enlivened by brilliant washes of coloured inks, were reproduced as posters and illustrations in the leading Underground publications of the day, including Oz, IT and Gandalf's Garden. Hurford's meticulously and minutely-particularised drawing style was coupled with his fascination with natural plant and tree forms. They gave his work a direct appeal to the hippy generation, who either aspired to get back to the simpler country life or who, as city-dwellers, nurtured a romanticised dream of rural existence. |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.374-2010 |
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Record created | February 1, 2011 |
Record URL |
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