British Council British Council Visual Arts

Unlike other years the 1971 Diary is not based on factual observation and description; instead it consists of a multitude of banal, one-line phrases: trivial and horrific news items; weather reports; and those stunning platitudes which people use to sum up the latest hours in their lives when they are asked: ‘Had a good day?’ and they reply ‘Quite a nice day’, or ‘Not a bad day’, or ‘Such a busy day’. In the Diary these phrases are built up layer upon layer in coloured inks in order to give the text a colourful visual appearance which contrasts gaudily with the depressing crumminess of the verbal content.

Cratylus The English Artist and The Word, The British Council, London 1979

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