second hand danger

photos taken in Wolverhampton in 2001

rescuing Lawrence Atkinson

Lawrence Atkinson is one of the forgotten Vorticists. In particular, his sculptures should be rescued from an undeserved neglect. Some time ago I started a study of the painter Merlyn Evans (1910-73), with a view to showing the extent of his debt to Wyndham Lewis. In the process, I found that the young Evans had been particularly motivated by his encounter with Atkinson’s sculpture, extending the thread of Vorticist influence to the mid-twentieth century. Consideration of Atkinson in this context grew into a piece in its own right, which I have posted on a page here: “Lawrence Atkinson – Vorticist after Vorticism”. Find the tab above or click here.

There’s a box of stuff on Atkinson in the Tate Britain archives, which I have yet to trawl through. Meanwhile, this will have to do.

the man who invented “New Labour”

My 1981 Cienfuegos Press comic book version of some of Bakunin’s anarchist writings, under the snappy title of A Critique of State Socialism, has recently been reprinted by ChristieBooks in a limited edition of 100, at £12 a throw. A bit of a collectable, really, but I’m flattered. More details on the site, http://www.christiebooks.com, though you may need to search a bit.

Stuart Christie suggested that  a new page or two, taking the analysis through the fall of the Iron Curtain and on to the present, might be a good idea. I tried, but wasn’t happy with my efforts, so we didn’t add anything. State socialism doesn’t seem much of a live threat these days …

If you click on the cover image above and take a careful look at the larger of the two tanks that are busy squelching the working people’s uprising, you’ll see that it’s emblazoned “NEW LABOUR PARTY”. Yes, this was drawn in 1981. I lay claim to the distinction that, with uncanny foresight, I invented the term “New Labour” two decades ahead of the reality. Should have copyrighted it …

The teeny tiny tank is marked “SDP”. Anybody remember them??