Ken Sprague
People's Artist
by John Green
This lively portrait shows how everyone can be a special kind of artist - how art can transform lives, deepen social engagement and build bridges. Ken Sprague's goal as a people's artist is, 'to build a pathway to the Golden City, and to help people dream again.' Here, for the first time is a selection of Ken's pictures, including his Guernica cartoon as a boy, poster for Martin Luther King, cartoons for the labour movement, the Anti Apartheid Campaign and war pictures from Iraq and Kosovo.
Ken Sprague was a print-maker, posterman, painter, cartoonist, muralist, banner maker, psychodrama tutor and art teacher. He was a legendary storyteller, with moving and amusing stories to enliven his pictures. Twice winner of the National Council for Industrial Design's poster of the year award, he exhibited widely. Uniquely, he was the only British artist with a life long connection with the trade union movement. His 1970's BBC Omnibus film, The Posterman, was very popular.
Full of good stories and iconic images, this biography offers fascinating insights into the crisis of art. It asks, 'How can art be reclaimed for ordinary people and communities?' Ken Sprague was an artist who, as a radical freethinker, did not fit easily into any category. He invites us to take creative action for a better, more beautiful world.
Publisher: Hawthorn Press
Format: Hardback
