Five reasons we love the work of Robert Montgomery

Robert Montgomery wants to talk to you.
 
The work of this Scottish conceptual artist falls somewhere between art and poetry. He puts words in places you wouldn’t expect: at bus stops, on the shoreline, against mountains – recognisable at once for their spare white typography. Whether he’s discussing consumerism or beauty, his art thrums with a particularly sore lyricism.
 
We love his work. Here are five reasons you should too.

1) His art hijacks advertising

For the past 10 years, Montgomery has put poetry where adverts should be – and not always legally.

2) He speaks to everyone

You don’t need an art history degree to interact with these works. He is interested in the ordinary person at the bus stop. ‘I think at its best, art is an intimate conversation with strangers,’ he has said. ‘One at a time, heart to heart.’

3) He fights the good fight

Montgomery’s work is unashamedly anti-authoritarian. He decries consumerism and aligns himself with the revolutionary Situationists of the 20^th century. Amid the clamour of anti-Iraq war demonstrations, he snuck out and pasted his first-ever billboard poem:

WHEN WE ARE SLEEPING, AEROPLANES CARRY MEMORIES OF THE HORRORS WE HAVE GIVEN OUR SILENT CONSENT TO...

4) He helps us find the sacred in the mundane

About the uncanny presence of trees in a city, he says:

AND THE TREES ARE SENTINELS OF SOMETHING, STANDING THERE BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS BREATHING LIKE HORSES ALL NIGHT

And there’s a fine-spun simplicity to:

WHENEVER YOU SEE THE SUN REFLECTED IN THE WINDOW OF A BUILDING IT IS AN ANGEL

5) His poetry makes us ache

Anyone who has lost someone catches their breath at this one:

Images: Courtesy of the artist and Cob Gallery, London