Art: Anything Can Happen

Austin Cooper is a tweedy, grey-bearded Londoner of 59 who made his name as a poster designer. "But during the war," says Cooper, "my interest in posters faded. I found my hands were functioning without any volition. The first results were doodles, then automatic writing. I thought 'If my pen is doing this, why not the brushes?' One day my hand shot out. Much to my astonishment it picked up a brush and drew on a board."

Little did Cooper know what he was in for. The need to paint nothing in a know-nothing way grew on him day by day. He...

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