Swinging London

Focus work

Peter Blake
England 1932–
Self-portrait with badges 1961
Tate. Presented by the Moores Family Charitable Foundation to celebrate the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition 1979
© Peter Blake/DACS. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney

Peter Blake was a pioneer of pop art in Britain. In this self-portrait, the artist represents his fascination with American and popular culture. Blake is holding an Elvis Presley fanzine and wears baseball boots, fashionably turned-up wide-legged Levi jeans, and a denim jacket covered with an array of badges. As well as the obvious ‘stars and stripes’ on the jacket pocket, other badges have American associations, such as Pepsi-Cola. At the time, Blake was yet to visit the United States and his choice of a suburban, vaguely British garden setting locates him as a distant consumer of its trends.

Issues for consideration

• Collect examples of pop art from Britain. Compare these to examples from the United States and Australia. What are the similarities and differences?

• Analyse the visual language Blake has used in Self-portrait with badges to convey meaning. Think about the subject matter, composition and painting technique. What does this work tell us about the artist and his influences?

• How could you appropriate this image to create a self-portrait? What would you include to make it your own? Create an artwork and write an extended label to accompany it in a class exhibition.