14 WWW.CLASSICSCOOTERIST.COM
SCOOTERAMA!
MMoodArt
Author: Paul ‘Smiler’
Anderson
Published by: Omnibus
Press
ISBN: 978.1.78305.968.
Price: £
Reviewer: Dave Dry
On reviewing a book with the
word ‘Mod’ in the title for an
audience of the scooter faithful,
the task is a little fraught, as that
particular word is often a turn-off
for a hard-core of what might
otherwise be seen as a target
audience. Indeed the casual
observer invariably thinks that
scooters and Mods equate to
the same thing – sadly, this is far
from true.
However, in the case of this
volume perhaps the unbelievers
in the scooter scene might give
this book a go, as there’s some
pertinent, interesting and valid
items waiting for them inside its
cover, including a whole chapter
on custom scooters and the
‘prophet’ of the type – Eddy
Grimstead.
Of all the youth ‘cults’ one
of the most enduring must be
Modernism. This can be judged by
its many endearing facets and a
whole library of books surrounding
the subject that include Paul
‘Smiler’ Anderson’s seminal Mods
the New Religion that is effectively
the history, or more correctly, the
Genesis of the Mod movement.
We now have another volume from
this prolific student of the genre in
the shape of Mod Art.
Mod Art is the much heralded
and long awaited sequel that is
far more all-embracing than its
predecessor from the point of
view that it encompasses the
entire stylistic constructs of this
movement, removing the temporal
focus from the late 1950s to the
end of the 1960s for a broad brush
approach to the entire development
of the Mod art form from its 50s
inception to the present day.
As an art book Mod Art,
unsurprisingly, majors on the visualperception of its
subject with a
quite stunning
pictorial layout- most of the
images being
rare, or never
seen before items.
The subject matter is
not, of course, all confined
to the ‘art for art’s sake’
depictions, but also features
the notably evocative music
styles that will be forever
tied in with the Mod brand
via, perhaps, the ground
breaking Ready Steady Go
on a Friday night. The music
themes mentioned are many
and varied, but always ‘cool’, albeit
jazz, rhythm & blues, blue beat,
psychedelia or pop from the 1960s
through to the Mod Revival of the
1970s.
An interesting point is made in
the pages of Mod Art about the
overlap between music and art and
even, possibly – the never before
considered concept – of a similar
counter textuality between the
high profile and archetypical Mod
steeds in the form of the Vespa or
Lambretta customised scooters
and their influence – unlikely as
it might sound – on the future of
art. The last mentioned item being
quite an original thought-provoking
insight in its own right.
The Mod clothing style featured
holds a unique, exacting and
possibly ‘last trump’ of the dandy
in its attention to detail and often
fine tailoring both for the peacock-
esque Mod male and its Mary
Quant boutique-following females - a fashion high point arguably
never exceeded and, obviously
mentioned in both the text and in
pictorial form within the pages of
this book. The male, smart casual,
Ivy League crossover with Italian
sharp tailoring is captured by the
evocative advertising aimed at the
Mod audience.
A major part of the Mod
narrative that is highlighted is
the influence of particular pop
bands such as the Small Faces
and The Who to pick out just two
influencers from the narrative.
These bands had the backdrop of
carefully styled and hand crafted
posters and record album sleeves
advertising their presence and,
not forgetting The Who’s indelible
imprint on the Mod scene in the
form of Quadrophenia – both
the musical album and the
film (despite many modern day
Modernist taking a step back from
the popularity the film engendered
in a lifestyle that had previously
been far from main stream and
very elitist)!
Finally, and just to underline
the book’s commitment to art,
the final chapter features various
‘movers and shakers’ in the form
of modern artists who have both
adopted and developed Mod-
themed artwork.
All-in-all, Mod Art must be
recommended as an unmissable
artefact for anyone with the
slightest interest in both
Modernism and, possibly,
scooters with their closely linked,
timeless classic style and appeal.
Well done Paul ‘Smiler’ Anderson
for assembling this incomparable
opus!BOOK
REVIEW
Paul Anderson with an alternative
cover version of Mod ArtMedicAlert
Biker Ta
RRP: £2.50 (minimum
donation)
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