Adrian henri and catherine marcangeli
Adrian henri and catherine marcangeli daughter.
We spoke to Catherine Marcangeli, Paris-based art historian, author and curator of First Happenings: Adrian Henri in the ‘60s and ‘70s, about Adrian Henri and the current exhibition of his work at the ICA.
What were you aiming for in your curation of this exhibition?
Adrian Henri is best known as a "Liverpool poet", as a painter or as the leader of the band Liverpool Scene.
Adrian henri and catherine marcangeli
This display focuses on a lesser-known aspect of his work: happenings. Adrian organised happenings in Liverpool as early as He saw happenings as a logical development from his collages: in his poetry as in his paintings, he often collaged images from everyday pop culture.
He went on to create environments and then staged happenings that were like 3D collages of pictures, sounds and words.
What was the significance of this form of practice at the time?
It was very radical, unprecedented in Britain.
Yet audiences didn't seem too resistant. One newspaper article recalls that people even seemed to enj