John McHale (August 19, 1922 – November 2, 1978) was a British artist, art theorist, sociologist and future studies searcher. He was a member of the
Independent Group, a British movement (
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...
, London) that originated
pop art which grew out of an interest in American mass culture and post–
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
technologies.
[Warholstars.org](_blank)
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He was born in Maryhill
Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road.
The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station.
History
Hew Hill, ...
, Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland. He was educated in the United Kingdom and the United States, with a PhD in sociology. After spending a year at Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in 1955–1956, he moved definitively to the US in 1962 to work with the architect Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing mo ...
on ecological issues and environmental sustainability. He and his wife, the artist Magda Cordell, then founded their own future studies organization, the Center for Integrative Studies (CIS), to deal with the long-term consequences of scientific and technological developments on mankind future and the environment.
Pop art
According to McHale's son, the term Pop Art was first coined by his father in 1954 in conversation with Frank Cordell
Frank Cordell (1 June 1918 – 6 July 1980) was a British composer, arranger and conductor, who was active with the Institute of Contemporary Arts. He also composed music under the name Frank Meilleur or Meillear (Meillear being his mother's ma ...
, although other sources credit its origin to the British critic Lawrence Alloway
Lawrence Reginald Alloway (17 September 1926 – 2 January 1990) was an English art critic and curator who worked in the United States from 1961. In the 1950s, he was a leading member of the Independent Group in the UK and in the 1960s was an i ...
. Both versions agree that the term was in use in Independent Group discussions by mid-1950s.
The critic Reyner Banham
Peter Reyner Banham Hon. FRIBA (2 March 1922 – 19 March 1988) was an English architectural critic and writer best known for his theoretical treatise ''Theory and Design in the First Machine Age'' (1960) and for his 1971 book ''Los Angeles: Th ...
called John McHale the "scholar-artist, this 'Father of Pop'". Alloway in his ''Artforum
''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notabl ...
'' article on "Pop art Since 1949" notes that "with reference to pop art that could be demonstrated ... John McHale made collages in 1955 out of the then-fresh postwar color printed American magazines." McHale's works included fine arts, graphics, exhibition design, television, film and general consultancy to organisations in the US and Europe. He exhibited widely in Europe from 1950. He started as a Constructivist artist and then transitioned into his Pop art and proto Op art.
With fellow members of the Independent Group, Richard Hamilton, Reyner Banham and Lawrence Alloway
Lawrence Reginald Alloway (17 September 1926 – 2 January 1990) was an English art critic and curator who worked in the United States from 1961. In the 1950s, he was a leading member of the Independent Group in the UK and in the 1960s was an i ...
he organised the ''Growth and Form'' exhibition in 1951, inspired by the work of the scientist D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson
Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson CB FRS FRSE (2 May 1860 – 21 June 1948) was a Scottish biologist, mathematician and classics scholar. He was a pioneer of mathematical and theoretical biology
Mathematical and theoretical biology, or biomat ...
. Although it received no financial support from the government or the Festival Office it had an agenda which was close to the official exhibitions of the Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people:
...
. McHale with Alloway curated a ''Collages and Objects'' exhibit at the ICA in 1954, where McHale first exhibited his formative Pop Art collages including the ''Transistor'' series, and his interactive gaming collage book ''Why I Took To The Washers In Luxury Flats''.
John McHale was awarded a scholarship to study with Josef Albers
Josef Albers (; ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born artist and educator. The first living artist to be given a solo show at MoMA and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he taught at the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College ...
at the Design Department of Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in August 1955, and returned to London in June 1956. He then participated in the 1956 exhibition '' This Is Tomorrow'' at the Whitechapel Art Gallery
The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the ...
, where he supplied a good deal of the Pop Art visual material[David Robbins and Jacquelynn Baas, ''The Independent Group: Postwar Britain and the Aesthetics of Plenty'', MIT Press, 1990, p139. .] (projectors, gramophone motors, film posters and probably the juke box were supplied by Frank Cordell
Frank Cordell (1 June 1918 – 6 July 1980) was a British composer, arranger and conductor, who was active with the Institute of Contemporary Arts. He also composed music under the name Frank Meilleur or Meillear (Meillear being his mother's ma ...
).[ Jeremy Hunt states in his article on 'This Is Tomorrow' that the exhibition Pop Art poster '' Just What Is It that Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?'' is attributed to "Richard Hamilton based on a design by McHale." According to Magda Cordell, "the material in that collage came from John McHale's files."
]
Published work
McHale was a member of the Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois.
Board of trustees
The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...
Design Faculty. In the 1960s he was an Associate with Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing mo ...
in the World Resources Inventory and in the World Design Science Decade Centre at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 st ...
where he co-authored a number of the reports.
McHale published extensively in Europe and the US on the impact of technology and culture, mass communications and the future. His numerous articles include:
* "Gropius and the Bauhaus" in ''Art'' (1955)
* "Josef Albers" and "Buckminster Fuller" in ''Architectural Review'' (1956)
* "The Expendable Ikon #1, #2" in ''Architectural Design'' (1959)
* "The Fine Arts and Mass Media" in ''Cambridge Opinion'' (1959)
* "The Plastic Parthenon" in ''Macatre'' (1966)
* "2000+" in ''Architectural Design'' (1967)
* "The Future and Function of Art" in ''ART News'' (1973)
* "Telefutures: Prospective Observations" in ''The New Television: A Public/Private Art'', MoMA (1977)
* "The Future of Art and Mass Culture" in ''Leonardo'' (1979)
His books include:
* ''The Future of the Future'' (Braziller, 1968)
* ''The Ecological Context'' (Braziller, 1970)
* ''World Facts and Trends'' (Collier-MacMillan, 1972)
* ''The Changing Information Environment'' (Westview Press, 1976)
* ''The Futures Directory'' (with Magda Cordell McHale, Westview Press, 1977)
* ''Basic Human Needs: A Framework for Action: A Report to the U.N. Environment Programme, April 1977'' (with Magda Cordell McHale, Transaction Books, 1978)
Honours
McHale was a Fellow (and Secretary-General) of the World Academy of Art and Science
The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), founded in 1960, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and global network of more than 800 scientists, artists, and scholars in more than 90 countries.
It serves as a forum for s ...
, the Royal Society of Arts, the New York Academy of Sciences
The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wi ...
, and the American Geographical Society
The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...
. He was awarded the Medaille d'Honneur en Vermeil, Society d' Encouragement au Progrès in 1966 and the Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of St. Denis in 1974. McHale was a member of the American Sociological Association, Institute of Ecology, Society for the Advancement of General Systems Theory, a member of the Colorado Archaeological Society, a member of the World Futures Studies Federation The World Futures Studies Federation is a global non-governmental organization that was founded in 1973 to promote the development of futures studies as an academic discipline. Its current president is Dr. Erik F. Øverland, Norway.
History
The ...
, and a founding member of the Futures Advisory Board.[''Futures Directory'' (p394)]
References
External links
"John McHal" at siudesign.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:McHale, John
British pop artists
1922 births
1978 deaths
Artists from Glasgow
Southern Illinois University faculty
People from Maryhill
Scottish sociologists
Scottish emigrants to the United States