Roger Kohn is a designer and author. He studied with

Rowan Gillespie Rowan Fergus Meredith Gillespie (born 1953) is an Irish bronze casting sculptor of international renown. Born in Dublin to Irish parents, Gillespie spent his formative years in Cyprus. From conception to creation, he works alone in his purpose-b ...

at York School of Art and is the Irish sculptor's biographer.

Education and career

Kohn was educated at Marton Hall Preparatory School and

Pocklington School Pocklington School is an independent school in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1514 by John Dolman. The school is situated in of land, on the outskirts of the small market town, from York and from Hull. ...

. After a year at York School of Art, he gained a first class honours degree in Graphic Design at

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

along with among others, Edward Bell (artist). At Chelsea, Kohn was taught by Edward Wright, Dennis Bailey and Susan Einzig and became friends with part-time tutor, the Scottish surrealist poet and musician

Ivor Cutler Ivor Cutler (born Isadore Cutler, 15 January 1923 – 3 March 2006) was a Scottish poet, singer, musician, songwriter, artist and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions record ...

. Cutler's influence on Kohn was a subtle one, but can be seen in his art. In the words of the artist himself:

In the early 1970s, when space travel and moon landings were very much in the news, Ivor was ahead of the time with his extraordinary eye for detail. He encouraged me to think small and push the boundaries of perception by exploring the minutiae of the minuscule, celebrating the precious details of our planet along the way.

Kohn travelled extensively in Latin America (once declining a request from

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

to return to Argentina on their behalf). He worked initially with the Diagram Group, a London-based cooperative group of designers (which included the brilliant avant-garde composer and musician,

Cornelius Cardew Cornelius Cardew (7 May 193613 December 1981) was an English experimental music composer, and founder (with Howard Skempton and Michael Parsons) of the Scratch Orchestra, an experimental performing ensemble. He later rejected experimental music, ...

), writers, artists and editors, led by Bruce Robertson and Bob Chapman, supplying visualised information to publishers in Britain and the United States; and was Art Editor on the definitive encyclopedia ''Musical Instruments of the World''., which featured in

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March ...

's 1985 "Lost Magic Kingdoms" exhibition at the

Museum of Mankind Ethnography at the British Museum describes how ethnography has developed at the British Museum. Within the Department of Natural History and Curiosities The ethnographical collection was originally linked to the Department of Natural History a ...

in London. After a brief spell at the Hamlyn Publishing Group he became Art Editor at

Octopus Books An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

. In 1983 he left to set up his own design business and to pursue his interest in art and photography, visiting over 60 countries and establishing an extensive photographic library. Besides

the influences on Kohn's writing and art are diverse:

"Being a fan of the art of dadaist
Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...
, the drama of Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, the music of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart and the humour of
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...
, I identified strongly with Ivor’s eccentricity and the absurdist nature of his unassuming yet often abrasive persona."

He cites the imagery of album sleeve designer

Cal Schenkel Calvin "Cal" Schenkel (born January 27, 1947, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania) is an American illustrator, graphic designer, animator and comics artist, specializing in album cover design. He was the main graphic arts collaborator for rock musician F ...

as perhaps his greatest visual influence. Having exhibited along with Vanilla Beer and Jane Jackson in the Art Attack exhibition at Cuts Gallery, Kensington, Kohn held his first one-man show, "Hung, Drawn and Slaughtered" at the Zillah Bell Contemporary Art Gallery, Thirsk in October 2003. Described by Pru Farrier in the Stockton and Darlington Times (2003) in the following terms:

"''A series of insect drawings which look like the sort of thing a Victorian collector would have framed - row upon row of luminously-coloured exotic bugs; look closer, and you discover they are all figments of fancy, the artist outdoing nature''"

''Looking for Orion''

Before undertaking the biography of

, Kohn undertook several book/design projects. These included working with Sarah Mucha of the Mucha Foundation on the book

Alphonse Mucha Alfons Maria Mucha (; 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his distinctly stylized and decorat ...

in 2005 (Kohn is style and design consultant for the family of the Czech belle epoch artist and designer); and work for the artist Vanilla Beer daughter of Anthony Stafford Beer, best known for his work in the fields of

operational research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve deci ...

and management cybernetics. Kohn designed and produced Beer's ''Prenez, Mangez et Vivez'' (2006). During the research period for Looking for Orion, Kohn worked closely with Moondance Productions on their Film Biography of Rowan Gillespie, ''Sculpting Life'' (Moondance Productions 2007). He travelled to various locations in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and North America, with Gillespie and Shane Brennan of Moondance Productions; conducted interviews and took many of the photographs that illustrate the biography. As well as researching Gillespie's background and artistic roots, the biography provides a catalogue of almost four decades of the sculptor's work and was launched in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, at the

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the RIA, the academy retained the word "Royal" after most of Ireland became in ...

, to coincide with the Irish sculptor's unveiling of his latest work ''Proclamation'', which depicts the execution of the seven signatories and the seven other leaders of the Easter Rising, and now stands opposite

Kilmainham Gaol Kilmainham Gaol ( ga, Príosún Chill Mhaighneann) is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the lead ...

Additional information

Amongst other work Kohn has undertaken filmography on '' Verónico Cruz'' and designs and produces the publicity material for African RevivalPublicity material for African Revival at Fruity Faces.com
/ref> a UK-based charity that provides Aid to 'self-sustaining projects' in Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. He is product designer for Fruity Faces, the ''Dragons' Den'' fruit case manufacturer that encourages healthy eating and gives its profits to charity. Kohn also designs the magazine showcasing the work of British Glass Artists in the UK, produced for the

Contemporary Glass Society The Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) is an association of artists, collectors, students, writers, organisations, academics, galleries, manufacturers and enthusiasts of glass. Its aim is to support Artists working in the medium of glass and to pr ...

,The Contemporary Glass Society Website
/ref> and founded by David Reekie as ''British Artists in Glass''. The Contemporary Glass Society is an Arts Council funded organisation that supports and encourages the development of Glass art in the United Kingdom. In 2005, Kohn was among the many artists, including Sir

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

Tracey Emin Tracey Karima Emin, CBE, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and ...

, Edward Bell and

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...

who produced a postcard (R. Kohn ''Volviendo a Casa'', Art of Care 2005) selected by Bernard Williams of Christie's for the Art of Care Auction Art of Care Auction
/ref> in Edinburgh.

References

External links

O'Brien Press

Biographical Notes and Reviews

Gallery

Image:The Great Crush Crash.jpg, ''The Great Crush Crash'', 2003. File:Volviendo a casa 2003.jpg, ''Volviendo a casa'', 2003 Image:Geraldine lr.jpg, ''Geraldine'', 2003. Limited edition inkjet print. Image:Chasin the dragon lr...jpg, ''Chasin' the Dragon'', 2005. Image:Ataque de los murcielagos.jpg, 'Ataque de los murcielagos' 2003. File:The Kiss, with apologies to George Stubbs lowres.jpg, ''The Kiss, with apologies to George Stubbs'', White Horses, Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk, 2009. File:Lady with hairpiece lowres.jpg, ''Lady with Hairpiece'', White Horses, Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk, 2009. Image:Ivor Cutler 1973.jpg,

at his flat in Laurier Road, N.London, 1973. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kohn, Roger 1951 births Living people People from York British biographers English non-fiction writers British artists English art critics English male non-fiction writers People educated at Pocklington School Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts