Robert Montgomery works with text in a post-Situationist tradition. Since 2005 he has carried out his WORDS IN THE CITY AT NIGHT project, inspired by the Situationist concept of detournement- where he hijacks advertising space in the city, often illegally. He covers illuminated advertising billboards with austere black posters with white letters: his texts part poetry, part an enquiry into our collective unconscious, and an attempt to describe in public space ‘what it feels like to live now’.
His texts and poems connect with the traditions of conceptual art, concrete poetry, Situationism, and contemporary artists like Jenny Holzer, but have their own resonant melancholic voice.
He has recently extended his text pieces into objects, making an exact replica of the most iconic Las Vegas neon sign with the words ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada’ changed to ‘THE SLOW DISAPPEARANCE OF MEANING AND TRUTH’- the Vegas sign inverted with a strong anti-Bush/anti-war message.
He has also collaborated with the Italian photographer Fabio Paleari, with whom he published their first book I Won’t Give Up in 2007. They are currently working on their second collaborative book, The Drift.
Montgomery has a 1st Class honours degree in painting and an MFA from Edinburgh College of Art. In 1994 he initiated the Aerial Project, a landmark artist-initiated project funded by the Scottish Arts Council opening the streets of Edinburgh to contemporary artists. From 1995 to 1997 he was Artist-in-Residence at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and his work is now in the museum’s permanent collection.
http://www.robertmontgomery.org
