John McHale

John McHale (August 19, 1922 – November 2, 1978) was a Scottish artist, art theorist, sociologist and future studies searcher. He was a member of the Independent Group, a British movement (Institute of Contemporary Arts, London) that originated pop art which grew out of an interest in American mass culture and post–World War II technologies.

He was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland. He was educated in the United Kingdom and the United States, with a PhD in sociology. After spending a year at Yale University in 1955–1956, he moved definitively to the US in 1962 to work with the architect Buckminster Fuller on ecological issues and environmental sustainability. He and his wife, the artist Magda Cordell, then founded their own future studies organization, the Center for Integrative Studies (CIS), to deal with the long-term consequences of scientific and technological developments on mankind future and the environment.