As a distant relative, I was honoured to be invited to the opening night of Ian Dury: More Than Fair at the Royal College of Art, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Paul Simenon, Dr Feelgood’s Wilko Johnson and Peter Blake. It’s an extraordinary collection of lost art from the man made famous by his music, yet who could have been just as renowned for his visual work.
His first ever retrospective spans thirty pieces produced between 1961 and 1972. Ian attended RCA in 1963, prior to the rock ‘n’ roll excesses that brought him fame, and it was here that he developed as an artist, with a strong and focused work ethic, heavily influenced by his teacher and life long friend Peter Blake. It was also here where he married fellow artist Elizabeth (Betty) Rathmell (whose maiden name I share).
Upon leaving Dury had success as a freelance illustrator for The Sunday Times and London Life, with his work appearing on album covers by Vera Lynn and Frank Sinatra. And it was only after this, and a spell as an art teacher at Barnfield College and Canterbury School of Art, that music became his creative medium. The rest, as they say, is history.
The pieces in the exhibition are not for sale, with many on loan from friends or owned by the Dury family, the majority of the works having languished in storage for some time. Would the family sell? “It’s a tricky one,” says daughter Jemima, “and there’s no hurry. We can make gorgeous prints for now”. One of which is his varnished sequin painting Jemima Proust (below right).
His main subjects? More tits and arse than “new boots and panties”. There are porn stars, nipples, evocative poses, sequins, Hollywood dons and exquisite divas. And drink in those rainbow colours: pinks that sparkle, greens that dazzle, blues and yellows that pop! Then there are artworks laden with quotes like Honk Honk It’s The Bonk, a line later used in a Blockhead song, probably referring to one of the earliest sensationalist composographs (1920s) used in the press. The end result? Simply pop art at its best.
Humphrey Ocean, artist and bass player for Ian’s first band Kilburn and the High Roads, believes Ian felt under the shadow of his first wife Betty, the more alluring painter, which may have prompted the move to lyrics and music as his creative outlet. “I was good enough to know I wasn’t going to be very good”, he once said drily. But Peter Blake has argued that Ian “was always interested in music, it was likely that he would be in a band”; and, always the performer, his music will outlive us all.
It’s just now we also have a case for Ian Dury the visual artist, whose work is set to inspire a whole new generation.
2 thoughts on “Review: Ian Dury: More Than Fair – Paintings, drawings and artworks, 1961–1972”
Ian was my tutor at Canterbury Art College. He had an exhibition of some of his work in the foyer in 1972, lots of colourful American cars and bathing beauties in bright colours, they looked like photographs they were so well executed. I am going to see this in mid August.
Ian was my main inspiration, especially his method of teaching life drawing, I have never forgotten a word he said in his classes, the guy was a genius!.
Ian Dury was also one of my tutors when I was on the Foundation Course at Canterbury School of Art! He was so amazing. He performed at our Christmas Party with his band Kilburn and The High Roads. I still have the set list from that brilliant gig!