Second Year Semester 1 Research @summahlongleyresearch - Tumblr Blog

Artist’s Shit - Piero Manzoni 1961

Artist’s Breath 1960

Line 18.82m., September 1959

Manzoni canned the shit’s of artist’s as an ironic statement against the commodification of the artist and art work. Ironically, the can’s are worth fortunes, ‘a receipt dated 23 August 1962 certifies that Manzoni sold one to Alberto Lùcia for 30 grams of 18-carat gold’. The fact that the cans were valued so highly really parodies the ridiculous nature of art dealers and the industry. On the Tate website it states Manzoni’s ‘work is widely seen as a critique of the mass production and consumerism that was changing Italian society (the Italian economic miracle) after World War II.’, yet still owns can number 004.

‘Manzoni's first 'Lines' made in April 1959 marked the beginning of his experiments with highly cerebral works which led away from painting and which entitle him to be regarded as a precursor of Conceptual art... Then his longest 'Line' measuring 7,200 metres was made on a newspaper printing press at Herning in Denmark on 4 July 1960 and was enclosed in a large cylindrical container made of lead-iron. It was buried in the ground so that it might eventually be discovered one day by chance, but in fact has since been dug up... Though several of these lines have been exhibited unrolled, the general intention was that the containers should remain unopened.’

I love how he is so overtly taking the piss out of the industry and how ridiculous and self absorbed it is, yet the industry still bought into it.

‘A number of his works comprised the fetishisation and commodification of his own body substances.’

'When I blow up a balloon, I am breathing my soul into an object that becomes eternal', Manzoni said in 1960

On the Tate website, it sites Duchamp and Klein as important influences to Manzoni. Duchamp was another artist who openly critiqued the industry but Klein was an ‘honest’ Minimalist and was not trying to parody the art industry. Klein’s ‘The Void’ and ‘Blue Monochrome’s’ are definitely related to Duchamp and Manzoni, but the lack of distinction between intentions on the Tate website seems to still reflect the failing to grasp the joke and seems to further the impression of the industry clinging onto the seriousness of high art.

‘Boom for Real’ - Basquiat

‘Discover the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, the pioneering prodigy of the 1980s downtown New York art scene. This unprecedented exhibition brings together an outstanding selection of more than 100 works from international museums and private collections. Engage in the explosive creativity of Basquiat who worked with Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Blondie, among others. Featuring rare film, photography and archive material, the show captures the spirit of this self-taught artist, poet, DJ and musician whose influence, since his death at 27 in 1988, has been enormous’ Barbican

The cutting and sombre SAMO series from the Basquiat show was one of my favourite parts. There were also pages from his sketchbook that included poetry that Basquiat had written, both are very emotionally charged and honest. Basquiat’s use of materials is also something that I like, he wasn’t afraid touse anything to paint on. Using throw away materials and letting them guide the work through their qualities or shape. I also am influenced by his use of ‘motifs’ or repeated images that occur throughout his work. This vocabulary of symbols creates a unified body of work. I have started to use this technique, slightly unconsciously, and have found it puts less pressure on making something good or starting new pieces when you are using familiar imagery.

John Akomfrah - Purple

‘At a time when, according to the UN, greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are at their highest levels in history, with people experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, including shifting weather patterns, rising sea level, and more extreme weather events, Akomfrah’s Purple brings a multitude of ideas into conversation. These include animal extinctions, the memory of ice, the plastic ocean and global warming. Akomfrah has combined hundreds of hours of archival footage with newly shot film and a hypnotic sound score to produce the video installation.’ Barbican

This work is one of the most powerful pieces I have seen and is extremely successful in making a connection with the audience and conveying emotion. Purple is completely immersive, the multiple screens create a sense of the omnipresence of different varieties of life and the use of sound perfectly accompanies the visuals. Akomfrah’s ‘Purple’ made me remember how visceral of a tool sound can be.

Ai Weiwei - Ton of Tea (2008)

‘This work compresses a ton of traditional pu'er tea leaves into the space of one cubic meter. Aesthetically, it recalls the glass and steel cubes of Minimalism. Donald Judd and Robert Morris were among the artists Ai admired. At the same time, it is made out of tea (one smells its pungent odor from afar) setting it apart from anything a Minimalist would make. Much tea in China is still produced in compressed cubes, so this is also an enlarged form of an everyday domestic item. While in the West, drinking tea (especially from Chinese porcelain) has historically been a status symbol, tea is the everyday drink in China. The brand here is one of the most common. In a much less dramatic way than Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, Ai's act of making tea into Minimalist sculpture calls attention to divisions between past and present. Ai's awareness of Western trends and Eastern ideas locates the work at the center of a global matrix crisscrossing the world, a persistent feature of his approach as an artist.’

Ai’s use of multiple/large amounts of material may be part of a way to grab attention and marvel at the commitment of the artist but I think the something in vast amounts has a visceral impact on the audience, and depending on what scale possibly awe-inspired.

Ai Weiwei - Study of Perspective Tiananmen Square (1995)

‘In what first appears to be a classic tourist snapshot, Ai sticks his middle finger up at Tiananmen Square Gate. Also known as the "Gate of Heavenly Peace", and formerly the front entrance to the Forbidden City, this was also the site of the brutal massacre in 1989 in which state soldiers shot peaceful protesters. The Beijiing government still refuses to discuss it, and censors all footage of the event.’

I like the use of photography in his work which create a still snapshot of issues that are so vast and complex, almost quieting such loud conversations to let you mull things over

Ai Weiwei - Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995)

‘Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, an early work by the artist, demonstrates his show-stopping conceptual brilliance, and desire to provoke controversy. Outside his mother's home in Beijing, he dropped and smashed a 2000-year old ceremonial urn. Not only did the artifact have considerable value (the artist paid the equivalent of several thousand US dollars for it), but symbolic and cultural worth. The Han dynasty is considered a defining moment in Chinese civilization. Understandably, antique dealers were outraged, calling Ai's work an act of desecration. Ai countered by saying "General Mao used to tell us that we can only build a new world if we destroy the old one." It was a provocative act of cultural destruction in reference to the erasure of cultural memory in Communist China, an anti-elite society that carefully monitored access to information, especially about its dynastic history. In its literal iconoclasm and spotlight on hypocrisy, this smashed vase embodies the central message Ai would continue to explore’

Questions the importance of cultural heritage and also makes us consider whether what we are told about our heritage is factual. How the history books are written by one side and can be manipulated.

Beyond The White Wall 2012 (extract) from jeremy deller on Vimeo.

A slideshow with commentary from Jeremy Deller, shows just such a work that couldn't sit in a gallery – performances and public installations.

I find Deller’s work that isn’t legit art pieces very interesting because he is still very engaged with them and you can see how they are just as important and they inform his other work, and vice versa.

#vimeo

Jeremy Deller - ‘What would Neil Young Do?’ 2006

"A few times now I have given work away for free at art fairs. It's contradictory, really – the fair is where you're meant to be selling high-value art objects to people, not giving art away, but it is a great opportunity to interact with the public because these events are so busy. What Would Neil Young Do? is an oversized poster. I didn't realise just how big it was when I made it, and also the fact that you can't handle the paper with your fingers because the glossy black marks incredibly easily. As soon as you touch it, you make it imperfect."

Again, Deller is questioning the etiquette and norms of the art world and industry by interacting the general public and creating discourse in a way that isn’t overly judgmental of the norm but just more speculative.

Jeremy Deller (With Nick Abrahams) - Depeche Mode Is Our Hobby 2006

"A friend of mine, Nick Abrahams, told me that Mute Records were looking to make a film about Depeche Mode for an anniversary 'greatest hits' package. I thought that could be quite interesting. And either he or I or both of us – I can't actually remember – suggested that we do something about their fans, as you hear almost mythical stories about their Eastern European fanbase, particularly in the 1980s. We went to Mexico, the US, Germany, Romania, Brazil and Canada – all in under three weeks. In Russia, 60 fans met us at the airport and basically kidnapped us for two days, which was brilliant for the film. As we suspected, the story from Eastern Europe was massive. The effect of Depeche in that region during the 1960s was similar to the effect of the Beatles on the UK during the 1960s. The film was never released – we suspect for a number of reasons. One of which was this German family (see the bottom-left image, facing page), who dress their children up as members of the band and characters from the films. They somocialehow manage to get tickets for the press launches of albums, private meet and greets – and no one can work out how they do it. A lot of German fans seem to resent this family. Also the band have been so carefully branded and marketed that the fans' behaviour sometimes disrupts this carefully crafted image. The fans appropriate the band, they do their own thing and have a laugh; it's not clean, it's messy and it's chaotic."

I like how Deller takes a group of people and delves into their lives in a playful yet respectful manner. He manages to find the interesting qualities in what many people would think is strange or anti-social.

Jeremy Deller (With Alan Kane) - ‘Folk Archive’ 2005

‘Folk Archive is a vibrant, visual account of contemporary popular British culture by the artists Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane. Bringing together drawing, painting, film, performance, costume, decoration, political opinion and humour, and some astonishing objects, Folk Archive celebrates activity from a vast range of British pastimes and pursuits, and demonstrates that folk art in the UK is both widespread and vigorous. The creation of Folk Archive provided an opportunity for a cross section of the community to have their work shown in an art gallery for the first time and includes work from prisoners and community groups, gurning and barrel rolling participants, Notting Hill Carnival troupes, protesters, pop fans, bored teenagers, villagers and the homeless. Treading the fine line between art and anthropology, Deller and Kane have selected over 280 elements to form an archive which provides a snap-shot of the state of contemporary folk art in the UK. It represents both artists’ long-term interests in creative practices and artefacts from outside the traditional art world. Collated over six years, Folk Archive was acquired by the British Council in 2007 and is now available to be shown to the general public in the form of a self-contained touring exhibition.’

Deller is again giving everyday artistic expression, that may not have the recognition of professional artists, the recognition it deserves. He is breaking down the boundaries between the art world and everyday people. When these pieces he has chosen are put into a gallery they take on a completely new aura and occupy the space that is intended for ‘professional’ works of art. This makes you question the nature of art and the gallery and whether we should be paying more attention to folk art. It demands more recognition and respect for folk art and questions maybe the legitimacy of ‘gallery art’.

Jeremy Deller - ‘My Failures’ 2004 - present

"This section was part of the show Joy in People and is called "My Failures" – a section of works that I wish I'd been able to make but wasn't able to"

‘Mission Accomplished’ 2004

"I intended to replicate the “Mission Accomplished” banner that hung behind then-President George W. Bush as he gave his famous victory speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003. It did not get made, as the subject was just too raw at the time. The Post-It to the right references the text on a leaflet that was put through the door in poor, mostly black, districts in Florida during the 2000 presidential campaign. It was a (presumably) Republican strategy to discourage traditional Democrat supporters – the election was on the 5th (not the 6th as the flyer suggests) and you don’t need to pay fines to be eligible to vote. The other note references Donald Rumsfeld meeting Saddam Hussein in 1983. There is footage of this: they discussed regional security in the light of the ongoing Iran–Iraq War and ways to transport Iraqi oil out of the country. Rumsfeld would have known that Iraq was using chemical weapons against the Iranian army and Kurdish separatists at the time."

"This was an idea I pitched for gateway sculptures at the 2012 Olympic Park. I suggested Stonehenge – or menhir-like structures, to mark the entrances and exists of the park. They would have looked like they had been there for thousands of years, with the site built around these pre-Christian objects. Eventually the Olympic Park will be a ruin too, as ruined and weathered as these objects. It was a comment on British identity, about which there is neverending debate. Stonehenge is possibly the most famous site in the UK, but of course no one knows what it is or what it was used for. It’s a bit like British identity itself: open to interpretation."

This exhibition shows a sort of behind the scenes view to Deller’s work, highlighting works that you feel might have fallen to the wayside a little for various reasons. I like the idea of these unrealised ideas as valid works in their own right as I have many ideas that never come to fruition for one reason or another.

Jeremy Deller - ‘Procession’ 2009

"I like what has happened in Manchester, historically, politically, musically, and I've always enjoyed being there – so when I was asked to make a public artwork for Manchester International Festival in 2009, I assembled a procession of the city's people and their activities. It was mostly a celebration of public space and the people occupying it: buskers, smokers, car modifiers, The Big Issue sellers and so on. One of the elements was Valerie's Snack Bar, this café in Bury Market, which just seemed to be a great gathering place for OAPs. The snack bar was almost exactly replicated and put on the back of a lorry and taken for a spin. As with any procession, there are lots of contradictory elements: some are traditional, others are contemporary or even futuristic. I wanted in a way to try and make something a bit like a procession you would see on 'The Simpsons', a sort of social surrealist event full of bizarre, funny, wrong-seeming things."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzNIyciG0R0

Deller’s focus on presenting and celebrating people and culture’s in their true, unashamed light is something that is integral to his work and something that strongly resonates with me. His art is very ‘documentational’ in this respect, where the act of illuminating a people or a group becomes the art and the story of said people is the main interest/subject.

Jeremy Deller - ‘The Battle of Orgreave’ 2001

"In 1998 I saw an advert for an open commission for Artangel. For years I had had this idea to re-enact this confrontation that I had witnessed as a young person on TV, of striking miners being chased up a hill and pursued through a village. It has since become an iconic image of the 1984 strike – having the quality of a war scene rather than a labour dispute. I received the commission, which I couldn't believe, because I actually didn't think it was possible to do this. After two years' research, the re-enactment finally happened, with about eight-hundred historical re-enactors and two-hundred former miners who had been part of the original conflict. Basically, I was asking the re-enactors to participate in the staging of a battle that occurred within living memory, alongside veterans of the campaign. I've always described it as digging up a corpse and giving it a proper post-mortem, or as a thousand-person crime re-enactment."

The re-enactment of this event creates a portal or looking glass back to an event in a sobering and almost uncanny way. It’s like a ghost image of the clash that resurrects the conflict and allows people to reflect on the event and its consequences.

Jeremy Deller - ‘Brian Epstein Died For You’ 1994

"I have always had this vague obsession with Brian Epstein because of his role in popular culture, as the manager of The Beatles. The fact that if he hadn't have lived, The Beatles might not have happened, not in the way we know them at least, is quite important. I don't think he's ever been properly credited for his role within popular culture. And he paid the ultimate price for that. He effectively became a martyr for pop music, dying for its cause so that it could live. 'Brian Epstein died for you' is also a phrase that can potentially offend so many different people in so many different ways, and I like its blasphemous quality. I have used it in a variety of ways over the years – on street signs, on calling cards, in books and on t-shirts."

Similarly to Basquiat, I love the idea of recurring motifs that crop up throughout an artists practices. They connect different works that may seem separate in a subtle, non-intrusive way and unify common themes and intentions. I am slowly building up small motifs in my work to build connections and almost hidden easter eggs.

Jeremy Deller - ‘Open Bedroom’ 1993

"This exhibition took place at a point in my career when I wanted to show work, but I didn't really know where or how to show it. A lot of artists were having 'open studio' exhibitions at the time, but I didn't have a studio – I was living with my parents and was working from my bedroom at this point – so I decided to stage an 'open bedroom' and turn the slightly embarrassing situation of still living with mum and dad in my mid-20s into a 'feature'. I took over the house when my parents went on holiday, replacing the work they had bought over the years with my work, running the exhibition for two weeks by appointment only. A lot of my work at that time was very small in scale and would have looked ridiculous in an art gallery. My parents found out about the exhibition about ten years later when they saw it in a book, which was about the right time."

I love the confidence and wit of this exhibition of his work, it reminds me of the enthusiasm and innovation of the riot grrrl movement.

Jeremy Deller - ‘The Uses of Literacy’ 1997

"This was an early curatorial project, an examination of a kind of folk or vernacular culture, so it was a lot of things at once. I handed out flyers inviting fans of the Manic Street Preachers to make art for an exhibition that was going to be staged for one day in Norwich. I was interested in the band because there was a great anti-intellectual drive in British music at the time, and this band actually wore their heart on their sleeves in terms of what they were interested in: art, literature and philosophy. I suspected that their fans would be interested in similar things. This was a pre-internet, fanzine era, but once the word got around, people started sending me all these artworks through the post. One fan who contributed was called Lotte Petersen. She lived on an island and would write me these long funny letters about how terrible her life was. The art in the show was made during a specific moment – before these young people might go to art college, where they're basically discouraged from making this sort of work, as it is not important or significant. After that this material potentially becomes embarrassing, when it shouldn't be. It is like catching these artists in their purest form."

A common theme of Deller’s work seems to be exhibiting the truth and purity in people and celebrating this.

John Baldessari - Goya Series (1997)

‘The titles of Goya’s series of etchings “The disasters of war” were reappropriated by artist John Baldessari in 1997 for his contribution to that year’s Venice Biennale. Black and white photographs of mundane objects are reproduced by the artist on canvas and accompanied by Goyesque titles (some taken from the originals, some invented by himself). The paintings in the series are all framed by a white border, like polaroids, with the title printed under the image, in a mechanical sequence. The ambiguity obtained by the association of pictures and texts echoes Goya’s own cynicism when the artist somehow understated the violence inherent in crude war pictures using laconic titles.’

This series is full of tongue-in-cheek ambiguity that invited the audience to wonder about the use and context of the images. But the captions are just vague enough to never really be able to grasp the meaning which is playful yet poetic for the audience.

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Second Year Semester 1 Research