BILLY APPLE New Zealand, 1935-2021
16 1/8 x 22 5/8 inches
In his statement for his exhibition at the Serpentine Galleries, London 1974, the artist explains that Billy Apple came to existence on 22 November 1962, Thanksgiving Day in the United States.
He is “conceived” by Barry Bates as “an extended work which is part of an effort to break down the separation between “art activity” and “life activity”. The name is selected in conversation with British painter Richard Smith, with whom he is temporarily living, in his warehouse studio in east London. The occasion is marked by the artist bleaching his hair and eyebrows with Lady Clairol Instant Whip (the same product he and David Hockney first used in 1961 on their trip to New York after watching an ad on television which promised that “blondes have more fun”) and recorded in a series of photographs taken by Smith.
Soon after, the artist has his “new look” photographed professionally by Robert Freeman (famously known for his photographs of the Beatles on 5 of their albums).
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist
Exhibitions
London, The Mayor Gallery, Billy Apple®: British and American Works 1960-1969, 16 September- 30 October 2010. ill. in cat. p. 42
Literature
Christina Barton, Billy Apple® A life in Parts, Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki, 2015, ill. p.16
Hong Kong, Rossi & Rossi, Billy Apple®: Six Decades 1962-2018, ill. p. 21
Thomas Crow, The Hidden Mod in Modern Art - London 1957-1969, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies of British Art, Yale University Press, 2020, ill. p. 65
Christina Barton, Billy Apple®: Life/Work, Auckland University Press, 2020, ill. p.57
Anthony Byrt, The Mirror steamed over, Love and Pop in London 1962, Auckland University Press, 2020, ill. plate 30