{"id":262,"date":"2009-08-11T12:32:11","date_gmt":"2009-08-11T11:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shardcore.org\/shardpress\/?p=262"},"modified":"2009-08-11T12:32:11","modified_gmt":"2009-08-11T11:32:11","slug":"magnus-pyke-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shardcore.org\/spx\/2009\/08\/11\/magnus-pyke-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"Magnus Pyke (2009)"},"content":{"rendered":"

First of a new series of paintings of great British eccentrics. Eccentricity seems to go hand-in-hand with enthusiasm – a winning combination for televisual entertainment, particularly in the field of scientific communication. UK Television in the 1970s and 1980s was party to a number of these characters, the likes of which seldom make it to our screens any more.
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Acrylic and spray paint on canvas 600mm x 600mm<\/font>
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\nMagnus Pyke<\/a> was a hugely popular TV scientist from the 70s. He was in his 60s when he first appeared on the screen, all waving arms and gesticulations – the very picture of a ‘mad scientist’.
\nWhile researching him for this painting, I was struck by the dearth of images or video available online. There is a period of recent history which is woefully under-represented on the web. A period before digitisation, a period before even the adoption of the VCR which has simply never made the leap onto YouTube and it’s ilk. At his peak, Magnus Pyke was a more recognised scientist amongst the general population than Newton and Einstein – yet the only moving images I could find are from his appearance with Thomas Dolby<\/a> in his hit She Blinded Me With Science<\/a> which is embedded below.
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First of a new series of paintings of great British eccentrics. Eccentricity seems to go hand-in-hand with enthusiasm – a winning combination for televisual entertainment, particularly in the field of scientific communication. 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