Fish out of Water

I was in London last week to see an exhibition of the work of McCauley ‘Mac’ Conner at the House of Illustration at King’s Cross. Mac was an admirer of the work of Norman Rockwell and became one of the leading illustrators in NYC in the 1950s and early ‘60s working for many of the leading magazines of the era. His style of work helped to define post-war America. This was a superb exhibition, notable especially for the way his work, nearly always involving people, imitated so cleverly the way we see the world through wide-angle lenses. To see some examples of his work click here.

The area around King’s Cross continues to develop, and each time I re-visit there is something new to see. As one development is finished another gets under way and the active zone is boarded-up. I have written before about the cleverness and artistry of modern boarding (or hoarding) – click here to see a previous example.

On this most recent visit I found myself staring at fish attached to a checker-board designed boarding.

I have no idea of the significance of the ‘fish’ apart from the fact that this was close to the Regent’s Canal and also on the edge of Central Saint Martins campus (a world-famous art college). As Alice would say: ‘curiouser and curiouser’.

Whatever the reason for them being there they attracted my eye, especially this second image of two fish tails.