Serpent Stripe 1962

Derek Boshier painted Serpent Stripe using what appears to be gouache or acrylic on paper. The loose handling of the medium, and the simple drawing, gives the work an immediacy, as though dashed off in a single sitting. Yet the conjunction of a snake, a monumental head, and a tube of toothpaste suggests something carefully considered. Are these traditional art materials? Not exactly, this is more like the kind of design you might expect to see on a poster. Indeed, Boshier had a long career as a graphic artist, and this clearly influenced his approach to painting. There's no illusionism here, just flat planes of color and a deliberately awkward composition. Even the handling of the paint seems geared toward the quick, reproducible image, rather than the aura of the unique artwork. This is Pop Art with a knowing wink, fully aware of its status as a commodity, as much as a work of the imagination.