DAWN MELLOR
Michael Jackson and Other Men
A new publication by Dawn Mellor
Launch: Wednesday 23 November 2011
OFFSITE: 17 Brooks Mews, Mayfair, London W1K 4DT
Studio Voltaire is pleased to announce a new publication by the British artist Dawn Mellor. The book features a large series of drawings of Michael Jackson and a number of other figures made by the artist when she was a teenager during the 1980’s.
However commonplace these kind of adolescent drawings might be, they are a precursor to Dawn’s concern with celebrity and fan culture; also functioning as subjective social documents. There is something endearing, and somewhat pathetic, about the Jackson drawings – both as a reminder of a tragic cultural icon and the indication of the burgeoning sexuality and artistic ambition of the young artist. Next to Jackson are images of the athlete Carl Lewis and comedians Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby as well as depictions of social unrest and injustice. In addition to creating a seemingly curious dialogue within the pages of the book, these other portraits suggest the pull of a wider African-American popular culture from an insular life growing up in the North of England at the height of Thatcherism, revolving around TV and other mainstream culture.
The publication has been designed by Fraser Muggeridge studio and includes
texts by Dawn Mellor and Joe Scotland that explores the cultural context in
which the works were made. Michael Jackson and Other Men is co-published
by Studio Voltaire and Koenig Books, London. Studio Voltaire has produced a
special limited edition version of the publication, which includes a signed print
by the artist.