Inspiring Older Readers

posted on 26 Mar 2017

People’s Art : Working Class Art from 1750 to the Present Day by Emmanuel Cooper

This book is a classic case of a slow-burner – it’s been sitting on my shelves for years and apart from a quite casual glance through it when it was given to me as a present, I haven’t really explored what it had to offer. However, the other evening I took it down and found myself completely lost in the repository of fascinating detail and great illustration.

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The starting date for this study – 1750 – is quite deliberate and broadly coincides with what is often taken for the starting date of the Industrial Revolution and takes us up to the date of publication, 1994. It aims to give an overview of visual art produced by ‘ordinary’ people and, quite controversially, includes what has traditionally been thought of a ‘crafts’ – knitting, quilting, poker-work and a host of other activities that might normally be classified as pastimes.

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What I really like about the book is the way Emmanuel Cooper is able to put the objects in their social and historical context. Many of the objects featured here are created not only to be decorative but to also be practical and useful – items that were created to be usable but also beautiful. In this respect it’s possible to see how working class art has always been crafted around the same notion of utilitarianism but with a stubborn insistence on making them objects of desire. William Morris articulated a very similar manifesto for the late Victorian Arts and Crafts Movement that has been incredibly popular in recent years.

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Cooper casts his net wide and shows an admirably open mind to what can be considered legitimate art – as you might expect, you’ll find paintings, pottery and treen objects (small items made of wood). However on top of this he includes furniture made at home ( or maybe in the garden shed) and items as diverse as loving spoons, corn dollies, trade union banners and painted, customised leather jackets.

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Predictably enough given the acquisitive nature of the middle classes and their desire to turn everything into a commercial proposition much of this art – often condescendingly described as ‘naïve’ – is now very collectible and high prices are paid for some pieces while certain artists now have a growing reputation and are even given exhibitions of their own. However that really flies in the face of why most of the objects featured in this book were produced – they were made because they were needed or simply for personal entertainment, a break from the arduous lives and jobs that occupied the majority of their time. And this is how they should be viewed – the products of talented people who were exploring their own abilities and creating beauty in what was otherwise a harsh and difficult life.

Copies of the book can be found easily enough on the second hand market and you might have to pay anything between £10 - £20 for a good, clean copy with a jacket.

Terry Potter

March 2017

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