Jonathan Jones (journalist)

Jonathan Jones is a British art critic who has written for ''The Guardian'' since 1999. He has appeared in the BBC television series ''Private Life of a Masterpiece'' and in 2009 was a judge for the Turner Prize. He has also been a judge for the BP Portrait Award.

Early life

Jones was born in Wales, and brought up in North Wales. Both his parents were school teachers and the family visited Italy in the summer holidays which kindled his interest in art. He studied history at the University of Cambridge and, at one time, wanted to be a professional historian. Jones developed an interest in modern art while living in the United States, where his wife was an academic at Brown University. On his return to the United Kingdom he wrote freelance for magazines and art features for ''The Guardian''.Interview: Jonathan Jones on Guardian Art & The Loves of the Artists
by Noah Charney, ''blouinartinfo'', 23 May 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2014
Archived here.
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Journalism

On Mark Leckey

Jones had a public feud with artist Mark Leckey, who won the Turner Prize in 2008. By 2011, ''Whitehot Magazine'' referred to "the ongoing 3-year battle" between the two. Later that year, Jones gave a highly negative review to Leckey's exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, describing it as being "full of lumbering inanities".Mark Leckey's art creates noise without meaning
by Jonathan Jones in ''The Guardian'', 23 May 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2014
Archived here.
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The review provoked strong responses in art circles and close to 300 comments on ''The Guardians webpage, including some 30 replies from Jones. Jones said in one: "So here is where I am really coming from... I believe ninety-five percent of the British contemporary art that is endlessly promoted by galleries, museums and the media is worthless". Writing in ''frieze'', Isobel Harbison called the review part of a "trend in broadsheet art criticism of opinion-mongering and reader-goading."

On Terry Pratchett

In August 2015, shortly after the death of Terry Pratchett, Jones wrote an article titled "Get real. Terry Pratchett is not a literary genius", criticising Pratchett's books as "ordinary potboilers" not worth the time to read. The piece attracted criticism including a response by Sam Jordison on ''The Guardian's'' book blog, which defended Pratchett's work and criticised Jones for commenting on books despite admitting that he had not read them. Jones wrote a follow-up piece after reading ''Small Gods'', in which he referred to his initial column as his "most shameful moment as a critic". He praised some of the book's wit and entertainment value, but still found that its prose and characters fell short of what he considered literary fiction.

On Grayson Perry

Jones is a long standing critic of Grayson Perry, who he has described as "trite and shallow". Perry responded by quoting 'Johnathan Jones' on a pot in his 2017 exhibition.

On photography

Jones has expressed varying opinions on photography. In January 2013 he wrote that "Photography is the serious art of our time" and the only art that devotes the same "attention to the stuff that matters" as great artists of the past. In December 2014, however, prompted by the high price allegedly paid for a print by the photographer Peter Lik, Jones stated "Photography is not an art", and went on to say that, "this hollow and overblown creation exposes the illusion that lures us all, when we're having a good day with a good camera – the fantasy that taking a picture is the same thing as making a work of art."

Publications

*''The lost battles: Leonardo, Michelangelo and the artistic duel that defined the Renaissance''. Knopf, 2012.
*''The loves of the artists: Art and passion in the Renaissance''. Simon & Schuster, 2013.
*''Sensations: The Story of British Art from Hogarth to Banksy''. Laurence King Publishing, 2019.

Personal life

Jones is married, with one daughter, and lives in London.

References

External links

Jonathan Jones on art at ''The Guardian''.Jonathan Jones talking about his book ''The Lost Battles''.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jonathan
British male journalists
Living people
The Guardian journalists
Year of birth missing (living people)
British art critics
British male non-fiction writers
Critics of Wikipedia
Alumni of the University of Cambridge