Partnership
Michael English (born Michael Jeremy English, 5 September 1941, Bicester, Oxfordshire–died 25 September 2009) had studied art under Roy Ascott at Ealing Art College in West London between 1963–1966. He took part in Ascott's revolutionary Groundcourse, the first year of which focused on changing preconceptions and involved exercises such as students being subjected to continuous pulses of light and darkness in the lecture theatre before being asked to walk over a floor covered with glass marbles. Ascott would later recall that one of the aims was to create disorientation "within an environment that is sometimes unexpectedly confusing, where is faced with problems that seem absurd, aimless or terrifying... Pete Townshend sat on a trolley for three weeks, because he wasn't allowed to use his legs and Eno went around with a bag on his head."
After graduating, English briefly worked for an ad agency but, having become "captivated by the pop movement," was soon selling his pop art designs – "a potent mix of art nouveau with hard-edge sci-fi applied to disposable items such as union flag sunglasses" – direct to London's trendy boutiques including Gear on Carnaby Street. As a freelance graphic artist he was also producing artwork for counterculture newspaper the International Times.
Nigel Waymouth had graduated from University College London where he had studied Economic History, and had also studied art at several London colleges. Following a period working as a freelance journalist he opened a boutique at 488 King's Road, Chelsea in partnership with his girlfriend Sheila Cohen and John Pearse, a Savile Row–trained tailor. They acquired the premises in December 1965 and opened as Granny Takes a Trip (GTT) in February 1966, initially selling Edwardian and antique clothes "with an up-to-date feel that appealed to the young hippie denizens of what was becoming known as Swinging London." They also sold their own designs – "very decadent, flowery and over the top, but without being totally tasteless" – which were soon in demand with bands such as The Beatles (photographed wearing GTT clothes on the back cover of Revolver), the Rolling Stones (front cover of Between the Buttons), Cream, The Animals and Pink Floyd.
In December 1966 English and Waymouth were introduced by Joe Boyd and John "Hoppy" Hopkins, co-founders of the UFO Club on Tottenham Court Road, who asked them to collaborate on posters advertising the club, believing that their combined talents "would result in something special." Waymouth said: "They wanted a distinctive style. The idea was to pair us off and see what happened." The pair worked well together, with Waymouth saying "The chemistry between us was brilliant," and English describing how their combined talents "created a very interesting melange of visual delights." At first they worked under the name Cosmic Colors but only produced one poster before changing the name to Jacob and the Coloured Coat, producing two more works. In March 1967 they chose the name Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, which suggested both hashish and psychedelic patterning (Joseph's "coat of many colors"). They set up a small studio on Princedale Road, Holland Park, close to the Oz offices, and where, according to the magazine's editor Richard Neville, "their sole inspiration was LSD and their regular 'tripping partner' was Pete Townshend." The posters were then printed and distributed by Osiris Visions, owned by the International Times, in the basement of the Indica Bookshop in Mason's Yard (off Duke Street), St. James's.
Read more about this topic: Hapshash And The Coloured Coat
Famous quotes containing the word partnership:
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