I Should be in Charge is the first book covering the complete work of
the colorful and explosive British artist Patrick Brill, aka Bob and
Roberta Smith.
Working through the conviction that art is a necessary and potent tool
of democracy, this duo has made sign-writing key to its creative
production. Bob and his alter ego, Roberta, use a playful attitude
towards their work, which dismantles conventional barriers between
elitist art and its viewer, and develops a language that uses humor as a
weapon to voice concerns that are pertinent to, and addressed to all
without exclusions. Slogans, painted on odd bits of timber or planks of
wood display their humorous take on contemporary political issues. Bob
and Roberta Smith produce art that operates on the social sphere.
In keeping with the irreverent attitude that informs the Smiths' own
identity, their artworks lure the viewer through playful comedic
effects, making his subsequent confrontation with the deeper underlying
issues at stake no longer avoidable. From comedic to political, obvious
to revolutionary, I Should be in Charge reflects the multifaceted
guises of the 'singularly' outspoken Bob and Roberta Smith.