What Artists are Making - as told to an Art Writer with Louisa Buck
The art writer and broadcaster Louisa Buck talked us through what she describes as her 'free radical approach' to covering the art-world for The Art Newspaper, which has seen her focus on ‘what artists are making, how they are navigating these crazy times, and making shape and sense of things’.
Louisa feels the public lockdown has thrown up a whole raft of issues and that artists are like all of us; some people cope very well in this situation, some people are very self sufficient, some people relish the extra time, for others it drives them crazy, as they like to be out there, seeing things, doing things, and can feel confined and restricted.
‘There is this cliche that artists thrive in isolation, but artists want to choose their own isolation and do it on their own terms and not feel constricted by the lockdown parameters. It's'a bit hazy and utopian to think it's a natural state for artists, some are finding it easier than others, but like all of us are having to deal with childcare, busy households and doing things that in in their normal lives would be done by others.'
She decided very early on in her work for The Art Newspaper, that she wanted to make herself available to artists and picked up the phone and started calling artists she knew. Louisa talked us through some of the inspiring projects that have come out of this time, and of the different approaches that artists have taken whether reflective, about communication, or raising money.
Matthew Burroughs #artistsupportpledge
‘is an incredibly important initiative - any artist anywhere can post their artwork on line for a price of up to £200, and commit after £1000 of sales to re-invest in the work of other artists. It almost a parallel service to the art market and is self sustaining and has raised over £20 million pounds so far.'
Keith Tyson #Isolationartschool
‘an extraordinary initiative where artists post short films on how to make art projects, you get to see how the artist themselves work, for example Tim Noble on how to make shadow sculptures It’s interesting insight into how artist work and how their minds work and is about artists voluntarily putting work out there.'
Virtual Studio Visits
'Artists studios are private and exclusive places open only to curators, occasional collectors, dealers - but a lot of artists have voluntarily opened up their studios like Gavin Turk who held a virtual Zoom tour over easter, walking round his studio full of the egg- a dominant theme on his work from the word go - Manzoni cracked eggs, Magritte-esque eggs, egg faced men, egg works from the archive...'
'Ryan Gander, though the organ of Lisson Gallery, let us into his studio with a couple of cameras strapped to his wheelchair he was like a human dolly, zipping round showing work in progress, and talking about his ethos. A lot of the work we saw was made in advance of Covid-19 but it has became strangely relevant. Ryan is also providing free tutorials for students, with art school shuttered, and everything online - artist tutorials and visiting tutors are just not happening - so he is providing free tutorials.'
Artists Reaching Out
'Art by nature is solitary but a huge number of artists are communicating. Bob & Roberta Smith for example - communication is built into his practice, and his instagram is a mine of information. Every day posts a stay at home task, they can be madly ambitious from planning a utopian art project, or how to make a cement roast dinner, casting vegetables and so on. He works with his partner Jessica Voorsanger, and using a simple app off the iPhone make talking memes of their heads, a daily Jessica Voorsanger interview - kind of jokey but also serious. They can seem quiet lighthearted and playful but with serious undertones, for instance Voorsanger talking head caricature voices observations about women in the art world, the trajectory of her career and setbacks, as even though she's had successful career her partner is more prominent due to gender and motherhood.'
'Is a really key aspect of this whole online shifting of the art world into the virtual realm. Artists instagrams are fascinating - take Cindy Sherman’s, a wonderful version of computer generated animated, strange distortions that echo her work but are instagram approriate. Or Dorothy Cross, based in Ireland, is absolutely glorious - it provides not her art work but her view of her direct environment in a very particular way. Another artist is Susie Hamilton - she is making beautiful, expressive, quick sketches, atmospheric and evocative of front line workers. One of her collectors is a surgeon and he'd taken certain photographs that she used as source material and also using images taken off the media and news feeds. It’s a very particular rendition of the situation unfolding.'
Engaging with the world at large
'Another aspect is the outpouring of support, artists wanting to raise money and to make work that is relevant, impacting on situation, alleviating or helping to provide support. All of us feel desperately worried and anxious, feel the futility and anxiety and artists respond to this in different ways. Jeremy Deller is very much about engaging with the world at large, an altruistic, ego-less outreaching into the population. His two poster campaigns - including Thank God For Immigrants' raised money for Trussel Trust , and the rather more hard core 'Tax Avoidance Kills' - which was anonymously put up around London and other cities. Peter Liversidge has made an extraordinary installation on the corner of Roman Road, a forest of signs in support of the NHS. It offers oblique political comments - when they started appearing people wondered what they were- Peter would go up at night and nail them up as he was very clear he didn't want it to be ‘a look at me I ‘m doing a Covid project’.
He wanted it to to be anonymous, he’s not wringing his hands, but has parents and family who work on the NHS so this was a personal thing.'
Collaborative and interactive
'Filmmaker Jared Schiller who pioneered Tate shots, is a great artist film maker and being back in Kent with his wife and kids and no work started feeling very agitated, so decided to do an exhibition that chickens would like, an open call for anyone that wanted to make work. Goshka Macuga under the pseudonym of her dog did a most wonderful film of a sleeping egg which was installed in the hen coop, George Shaw made a painting of a nest. Some of the works installed around the coop were eaten regularly by the goats. It sounds playful, even absurdist but through live feed interviews, and thinking about how birds see world and what lock down means for them, culture and nature and the urban become closer and more interactive.'