Allen Jones: Pop Art, America in the 1960s, and the Process of Creation

Sighs and Whispers

Fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms speaks with pop artist, painter and sculptor Allen Jones. Allen was born in Southampton in 1937 and grew up in the London suburbs. He studied painting and lithography at Hornsey College of Art between 1955 and 1959, after which he entered the Royal College of Art alongside what was to become the first generation of British pop artists. After teaching art and exhibiting for a few years, in 1964 he moved to New York for a year, before going on an extended tour of the United States by car. This trip proved to be incredibly influential in his career—connecting him with the American pop art scene, helping him develop a more hard-edged painting style, and introducing him to fetish imagery. In 1970 he premiered his most controversial works—sculptures of pneumatic female mannequins as furniture: a chair, a hat stand, and a table. The feminist backlash made him into a household name. One of Britain’s most famous living artists, at 85, he continues to paint everyday day in his large barn-like studio in the beautiful English countryside. Allen and I discuss growing up in the London suburbs, art school and his early years teaching, pop art, New York and the Chelsea Hotel, America in the 1960s, the evolution of his sculptural work, his current projects, and much more. To sign up for my newsletter, visit https://laurakitty.substack.com/ For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of photographs, head to https://sighswhispers.com/episode-39-allen-jones Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms Featured Guest Allen Jones