I came across Bochner's work in a private gallery in London. I was particularly enamoured by his BLAH... series - the dry humour and satirical nod to the sense of boredom, mediocrity and meaninglessness that often bares itself in the art world. I felt it shared a similar ideology to my own YEAH YEAH YEAH (Recently sold to a private collector)
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH Mel Bochner 2008
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YEAH YEAH YEAH Tom Stockley 2014
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After further research, I realised that Bochner's work, although in parts appearing more associated with Pop Art sensibilities, is underpinned by the ideology of a conceptual artist - exploring ideas of definitions, dimensions and boundaries of what art can be, asking similar questions to those of his contemporaries Joseph Kosuth and Bruce Nauman. Examples of such approaches can be found in Bochner's seminal 1966 show Working Drawings And Other Visible Things On Paper Not Necessarily Meant To Be Viewed As Art - an exhibition largely consisting of notes, plans, bills and other 'non-pieces' relating to artistic practices, including work from Carl Andre, John Cage, Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt. I like the idea of presenting working drawings, sketches and other plans as part of the art itself - I have always been attracted to the rawness and DIY aesthetic of such items.
Poster for Working Drawings And Other Visible Things On Paper Not Necessarily Meant To Be Viewed As Art
