Plan II 1972

Curator: Here we have Derek Boshier’s "Plan II," held in the Tate Collections. Boshier, born in 1937, created this piece using screenprint in 1976. Editor: It strikes me as a very deliberate study in contrasts, harsh blacks and reds against a stark white background, softened by the photographic landscape band along the top. Curator: Precisely, the hard-edged abstraction juxtaposed with photographic imagery speaks to Boshier's commentary on the role of technology and mass media within society. He often explored these tensions. Editor: I see the use of screen printing and those stark geometries almost as a nod to the mass production of imagery. Are these simplified forms symbolic of urban planning or something else altogether? Curator: Possibly. Boshier engaged with the anxieties and aspirations of the post-war era. The imagery may reflect on the promises and failures of modernist design and its impact on the environment. Editor: An unsettling reflection on our built environment, I find. The artist successfully brings the reality of mass production to the forefront. Curator: Indeed, it is quite thought-provoking. Editor: A definite testament to the power of materiality, even in simplified forms.