John Latham’s Cosmos and Mid-Century Representation

Abstract

The conceptual artist John Latham (1921–2006) is sometimes cast as disconnected from the currents of British visual culture. Latham’s idiosyncratic cosmology, based upon time and events and incorporating human creativity rather than matter and energy, is used to distinguish this disconnection. This article argues, however, that his work can be seen as closely related to that of other mid-century cultural producers who were engaged with alternative cosmic speculations, and part of a broader shift in the register of representation. Papers from the Latham digital archive help make this case.