Click to view this newsletter online: www.artmonthly.co.uk/newsletters/apr10

Art Monthly Newsletter

April 2010


Art Monthly cover

Out now

Art Monthly #335 April 2010

UK: £4.40
Europe: £5.50
Rest of World: £7.20

Buy online


Newsletter Contents

In the new Art Monthly
Upcoming events: Talking Art at Tate Modern - Tatsuo Miyajima
Art Monthly audio: On the radio and online
Opportunities: Jobs, competitions, commissions etc
Free sample copy and subscriptions

Art Monthly April Issue

artwork image

Phillida Barlow Split 2010

Interview

Why Things Are The Way Things Are

Phyllida Barlow interviewed by Colin Perry

Sculptor Phyllida Barlow studied in London during the early 1960s when the nature of sculpture, and the way it was taught, was up for grabs. Her intensely physical artworks grew in scale over the years, as did her reputation as a teacher, whose students include Bill Woodrow, Rachel Whiteread and Angela de la Cruz. Here she talks about changes in the art world, art schools and her artwork.

'Once something is a named thing, we are all at one with it. But remove the thing that gives it its name and I don't know what it becomes, and that, for me, is where the sculptural object is. It becomes an uncertain object.'

 

artwork image

Mark di Suvero & Rirkrit Tiravanija Peace Tower 2006

Feature

1965-75 Redux

Francis Frascina on an unevenly remembered decade

Considering his classic Vietnam War film too tame for contemporary audiences in 2001 Francis Ford Coppola re-edited and re-released it as Apocalypse Now Redux. But what happens when the art world remakes its own protest works from that period? And which works are being erased from the art historical canon because of their political content?

'The oppositional critique of the art world produced by the site-specific character of the 1966 Peace Tower was replaced in 2006 by a version pulled deep within an art institution. Displayed at the Whitney Biennial, it was sited in a courtyard well below sidewalk level with only the upper portion visible from Madison Avenue. For Rosler this "antiwar tower" ended up in "the museum's moat".'

 

artwork image

Martin Kippenberger Untitled (from the series 'Dear Painter, Paint for Me') 1981

Feature

Remakes

Mark Prince on artists as curators of the self

The self portrait has been a mainstay of art for centuries, but in an age of Hello! magazine and Twitter streams, and within an art market that favours artists with recognisable signature styles, what is the role of autobiography in art? And what does it mean when artists begin to curate, or even recreate, their early works, as seen in Damien Hirst's gold-plated auction and the Chapman brothers' abject Shitrospective?

'Perhaps the curating of one's own past is as close to the obsessive self-circlings of recent literary autobiographical fiction as visual art comes. If it is a symptom of Postmodernism, it might also be seen as its potential remedy.'

Advertisement

advertisement

Comment

Editorial

Those Who Can, Teach

The two most important factors in an art school are the staff and the students. While the rise in student fees might scare off the latter, the increasing academicisation of art schools might do for the former. What has the last half century told us about the best kind of teaching in art schools, and what does the future promise?

'Bureaucrats who think students are attracted by corporate-style buildings with glass and steel atria and a glamorous brand identity should remember the inconvenient location and unprepossessing facilities that clearly didn't deter students from applying to Goldsmiths. As for academic commissars who think that art can be taught according to rigidly imposed academic criteria, they should be reminded that much of the best in art education has emerged from challenging the very idea of imposing fixed criteria.'

Letters

Michael Hampton reiterates what will be lost if Peacock Visual Arts' plans are overlooked in Aberdeen.

Artnotes

The ICA limps on without its director of exhibitions, but not on Mondays and Tuesdays; quango Audiences UK wants the views of the public to be taken into account when arts funding resources are allocated; a Tory thinktank wants to scrap Arts Council England and give everyone £11 culture vouchers instead; Tate loses another director but gains a trustee; UAL staff plan a strike ballot; and all the latest news on art world appointments, events, commissions and more.

Submissions: Send Artnotes info to artnotes@artmonthly.co.uk

Advertisement

advertisement

Reviews

Exhibitions

From Floor to Sky

Colin Perry

Christian Boltanski

Deke Dusinberre

Whitney Biennial: 2010

Morgan Falconer

Star City

Jennifer Thatcher

Journeys With No Return

Klara Kemp-Welch

Eija-Liisa Ahtila

Maria Walsh

Swedenborg House: fourteen interventions

Peter Suchin

Magic Show

Martin Herbert

Crash

Peeping Tom

David Barrett

John Smith: Solo Show

Sally O'Reilly

Ian Breakwell

David Briers

Kathy Prendergast

David Trigg

Reviews

Books

Ch-ch-ch-changes: Artists Talk About Teaching

Kathy Battista on David Mollin and John Reardon's interviews with artists who teach

'Reardon acknowledges the difficulty in according any objective value in the teaching of art in fine art departments. He writes that the interviews "left me more sure that a lot of good work is done by people not so convinced by things".'

Art School

Morgan Falconer on Steven Henry Madoff's attempt to define guiding principles for future art schools

'The problem many schools face is that those in power aren't so keen on the free-and-easy approach, and insist on imposing targets and assessments that are more appropriate to academic humanities such as literature or history. For Michael Craig-Martin, Margaret Thatcher was the root of this evil in the UK, when she set out to transform lowly "colleges" into "universities".'

Seeing Witness

Francis Frascina on Jane Blocker's examination of the ethics of testimony

'For Blocker the figure of the "invisible witness" pervades contemporary culture, including the academy: the irony is that, in the lecture theatre at the UN in 2003, US Secretary of State Colin Powell acted like an art historian, an "imagery specialist", pointing out the salient features of displayed images.'

Reviews

A/V

Aura Satz

Paul Usherwood on a film and sound installation at the AV Festival

'You enter a semi-lit space where a film is projected on one wall. So far, so familiar. But the room is furnished with a row of old-fashioned Joshua Reynolds-type ear trumpets and an array of early 20th-century gramophone and phonograph horns suspended from the ceiling, some of them bigger than the biggest sousaphone.'

Report

Letter from LA

Past and Present

Kathy Battista on the major changes in the Los Angeles art scene

'The most significant project to take place, and certainly a litmus test for the entrepreneurial spirit and renewed energy in LA at the moment, was the restaging of the legendary Ferus Gallery in its original site at 736 N La Cienega Boulevard.'

Salerooms

London

Vendors Return

Colin Gleadell on what a difference a year makes in the art market

'After the abysmal £42.7m the London salerooms took for contemporary art in February 2009, they bounced back this year with a £124.3m series in February. Experts attributed a much healthier level of supply in London to the positive results achieved in New York last November, which gave potential vendors the confidence to sell.'

Artlaw

Contracts

Polaroid: The Gift That Doesn't Keep Giving

Henry Lydiate on whether the works in the Polaroid Collection are gifts

'Artists have always donated their artworks to worthy recipients: family, friends, fellow practitioners, potential buyers and collectors, or charitable and other good causes. Motives for their doing so vary widely from, say, altruism or love and kindness at one extreme to bribery and corruption at the other. Clear and unambiguous documentary evidence of such gifts is needed for the recipient to be sure that the object received was a gift after all – and the reason it was given.'

Listings

Exhibitions

Exhibition listings

Art Monthly's exhibition listings can also be viewed online.

Submissions: Send Listings info to listings@artmonthly.co.uk

Events

artwork image

Tatsuo Miyajima Counter Coal 2008

Talking Art

Tatsuo Miyajima interviewed by Marcus Verhagen

Tate Modern Starr Auditorium
Saturday 24 April 2pm

Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima rose to prominence in the late 1980s with his distinctive use of glowing LED numerical counters. In later works these counters were attached to moving devices or embedded in natural materials, such as piles of coal or submerged underwater. Miyajima describes his practice as addressing humanist ideas within a Buddhist philosophy: 'keep changing, connect with everything, continue forever'. He has work in the Tate Collection, has twice exhibited in the Venice Biennale and earlier this year he presented a solo show at London's Lisson Gallery.

Prices: £9 (£5 concessions), booking recommended
Book online: https://tickets.tate.org.uk

Art Monthly audio

Art Monthly on the radio

Art Monthly has its own show on Resonance 104.4 FM. Tune in at 5pm on the second Friday of each month to hear news and views from Art Monthly contributors.

Next broadcast: 5pm Friday 9 April
More info: resonancefm.com


Art Monthly audio online

Audio recordings of many of Art Monthly's events, from the regular Resonance FM radio show and Talking Art artist interviews at Tate Modern to the special panel debates, are available free in the Events section of the Art Monthly website.

Listen now: www.artmonthly.co.uk/events.htm

Opportunities

Jobs

Tutor in Art Criticism

Royal College of Art | 12 Apr
www.rca.ac.uk

Lecturer in Fine Art

University of Salford | 8 Apr
www.hr.salford.ac.uk

Director

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art, Norwich | 7 Apr
www.uea.ac.uk

Head of Sculpture Studies

The Henry Moore Institute, Leeds | 9 Apr
www.henry-moore.org

Exhibition Organiser

Whitechapel Gallery, London | 12 Apr
www.whitechapelgallery.org

Artist Programme Manager

Bedford Creative Arts | 9 Apr
www.bedfordcreativearts.org.uk

Arts Manager 9 month contract

Croydon Council | 5 Apr
http://jobs.croydon.gov.uk

Professor/Reader in Painting

University of Ulster | 28 May
www.ulster.ac.uk/jobs

Freelance Curator

Eastside Community Heritage, London | 23 Apr
www.hidden-histories.org.uk

Grants/Scholarships

2010 Art Awards

The Wellcome Trust, London | 30 Apr
www.wellcome.ac.uk

Grant for artist & non-profit institution

Harpo Foundation | 15 Apr
www.harpofoundation.org

Artist Grant

The Elephant Trust | 13 Apr
www.elephanttrust.org.uk

Researcher

The Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht | 15 Apr
www.janvaneyck.nl

2010 Production Programme $100,000 grant

The Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE | 30 Apr
www.sharjahart.org

Competitions/Commissions

Artrwork commission for new building - up to £50,000

The University of Bolton, Bolton Council and NHS Bolton are seeking to commission an artist to create artwork to be integrated into the design of a new building.
Bolton One: Health, Leisure and Research Centre | Deadline: 30 April
www.bolton.ac.uk | Call 01204 903378 or email ab8@bolton.ac.uk

advertisement

Curatorial Propositions for Venice Biennale 2011

Arts Council of Wales | 16 Apr
www.artswales.org.uk

Future Generation Art Prize

Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev, Ukraine | 18 Apr
www.futuregenerationartprize.org

Tethervision online commission

Tether, Nottingham | 15 May
www.tether.org.uk

Commission for temporary pavilion

Wirksworth Festival | 5 Apr
www.wirksworthfestival.co.uk

Digital Art Commission

Exeter Phoenix | 14 Apr
www.exeterphoenixdigital.org.uk

Residencies/Fellowships

Site Platform 2010 & Site Web Commissions

Site Gallery, Sheffield | 26 Apr
www.sitegallery.org

Artist in Residence

St John's College, Oxford | 14 May
www.sjc.ox.ac.uk

Artist in Residence

The Rea Garden, Birmingham | 13 May
www.behindcloseddoors.org.uk

Art workshop directed by Mona Hatoum

The Marcelino Botin Foundation, Spain | 16 Apr
www.fundacionmbotin.org

Residency in France

Artistay, France | 30 Apr
www.artistay.org

International Curatorial Programme

FRAME & HIAP, Helsinki | 1 May
www.hiap.fi

Residency in the US

McColl Centre for Visual Art, Charlotte, North Carolina | 3 May
www.mccollcenter.org

Exhibiting

Fundada Artists Film Festival

Square Chapel, Halifax | 31 May
www.fundadaartistsfilmfestival.blogspot.com

Mill 24

Islington Mill, London | 29 May
www.mill24.blogspot.com

Emergeandsee festival 2010

Emergeandsee, Berlin | 15 Apr
www.emergeandsee.org

Sculpture in Context 2010

National Botanic Gardens, Dublin | 16 Apr
www.sculptureincontext.com

Lines of Desire

Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown | 30 Apr
www.orieldavies.org

Open Here 2010

Hereford Photography Festival | 31 May
www.photofest.org/openhere

Submissions: Send Opportunities info to opportunities@artmonthly.co.uk

Get Art – Get Art Monthly

Free Sample Issue

For a free sample issue, email: subs@artmonthly.co.uk

Special Offer: Gift Subscriptions

SAVE £19 by giving a gift subscription - prices start at only £25.

Subscribe Now

2009 Subscription rates for individuals:
UK: £44 / Europe: £55 / North America: $74 / Rest of World: £72
Institutional rates: £53 / £68 / $79 / £86
Student rates: £30 / £41 / $48 / £53

Subscribe online: www.artmonthly.co.uk/subs
By email: subs@artmonthly.co.uk
Call: +44 (0)20 7240 0389

Digital Edition

Art Monthly is also available as a digital edition. The annual subscription price is £30. Digital subscribers also get access to some back issues online. See Exact Editions for more information.

Reach Art Monthly's Audience

Advertise

You can now advertise in this newsletter as well as in the magazine. Rates start at only £150.

More info: www.artmonthly.co.uk/ads.htm

Contact Matt Hale: ads@artmonthly.co.uk
T: +44 (0)20 7240 0418 / F: +44 (0)20 7497 0726


Art Monthly
4th Floor
28 Charing Cross Road
London WC2H 0DB

T:+44 207 240 0389
F: +44 207 497 0726
E: info@artmonthly.co.uk
W: www.artmonthly.co.uk

This is a free monthly newsletter detailing the contents of the new issue of Art Monthly magazine and other related information. You have been sent this email because you have subscribed to our newsletter – thanks for reading! We do not pass your details to third parties.

To unsubscribe use the following link and click on the 'unsubscribe or edit options' button at the bottom of that page: http://list.artmonthly.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/e-bulletin

Feel free to pass this email on to friends you think may be interested. They can subscribe to this newsletter by visiting: http://www.artmonthly.co.uk/ebulletin.htm

  Advertisement

advertisement