Stuckism
Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.[art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defin ...]
that began in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, in 1999. In 2000,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
artist
Regan Tamanui
Regan Tamanui is an artist based in Melbourne, Australia. In October 2000, he founded the Melbourne Stuckists, the fourth Stuckist of the original Stuckist groups and the first outside the United Kingdom. He has also painted prolifically as ...
started the first international branch of the movement. As of 2010, there are seven Australian Stuckist groups, who have held shows—sometimes concurrently with UK activities—received coverage in the Australian press and on TV, and also been represented in UK shows. The Stuckists take a strong pro-painting and anti-conceptual art stance, and were co-founded by
Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson ...
and
Billy Childish
Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper, 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has le ...
.
Chronology
In October 2000, Regan Tamanui founded the Melbourne Stuckists,
["International Stuckists"]
Walker Art Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group.
History of the Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...
. Retrieved 12 March 2008. the fourth Stuckist group to be started and the first one outside the UK (there are now 127 groups in 32 countries). On 27 October, he staged the ''Real Turner Prize Show''
[ at the Dead End Gallery in his home, concurrent with three shows with the same title in England (]London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, Falmouth and Dartington
Dartington is a village in Devon, England. Its population is 876. The electoral ward of ''Dartington'' includes the surrounding area and had a population of 1,753 at the 2011 census. It is located west of the River Dart, south of Dartington H ...
), and one in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, in protest against the Tate Gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
's Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...
.
Besides Tamanui, the other initial members were Justin Grub, Ben Blanchette, Malcome Mmackie and Dave Freeman Rose. A subsequent line-up was Basil Kouvelis, Justin Grubb, Ben Frost, Nigel Stein, Daniel Gorzadek, Stephen Sperling and Dennis Roper. Stein, an RMIT art student, was prompted to join the group after Karen Ward was given the inaugural $105,000 Helen Lempriere Award for her minimal sculpture ''The Hut'', derided by him as a "Wendy House". Tamanui said, "There are some people who shit in a tin. Is that really art?"
In May 2001 Tamanui, Stein, Grubb and Kouvelis were represented with 24 international groups in the London show ''Vote Stuckist'', so named because Thomson was standing as a candidate in the 2001 United Kingdom general election
The 2001 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 7 June 2001, four years after the previous election on 1 May 1997, to elect 659 members to the House of Commons. The governing Labour Party was re-elected to serve a second term ...
, as a Stuckist candidate against the then-Culture Secretary
The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department f ...
, Chris Smith.
In November the Melbourne Stuckists staged a show ''Houdini to Hofmann'' at the Chiara Goya Gallery, which included some UK Stuckist work for the first time.
Kaye Blum made a short documentary on the group, ''Art Gets Unstuck-Up''. The film is structured around the artists reading lines from the Stuckists Manifesto written by Thomson and Childish. It was first shown at the ''Jaffas Down the Aisle'' film festival in Melbourne in October 2001, then in 2002 at the ''International Film Festival of Fine Art'' in Hungary and the ''Asolo Arts Film Festival'' in Italy, where it was nominated for best student short.
In 2001, Graham Wilson, born and bred in Gunnedah
Gunnedah is a town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 9,726. Gunnedah is situated within the Liverpool Plains, a fertile agricultur ...
, New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, founded the second Australian group (and the first Stuckist sculpture group), the Newcastle Stuckist Stonecarvers.
In December 2001, The Stuckist demonstration outside the Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...
at Tate Britain
Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
, London, was broadcast on Australian national TV news.
In 2002, Godfrey Blow
Godfrey Blow (born 6 October 1948) is an artist based in Kalamunda, Western Australia. He is the founder of the Perth, Western Australia, Perth Stuckism, Stuckists.
Life and art
Godfrey Blow was born in North Hykeham, Lincolnshire, England ...
started the Perth Stuckists (Western Australia). In July, along with Melbourne Stuckists he was shown at ''The First Stuckist International'', which opened in the Stuckism Gallery, Shoreditch
Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area.
In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...
, London.
In March 2003, Tamanui was exhibited in ''Stuck in Wednesbury'', the Stuckists' first show in a public gallery, held in Wednesbury
Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...
Museum and Art Gallery, England.
In October 2002, Tamanui opened the Stuckism International Centre (Australia) with an ongoing exhibition of work, as well as the first international Stuckist show in Australia, ''Stuck Down South'', at the FAD Gallery. This included founding Stuckists, Charles Thomson, Ella Guru
Ella Guru (born May 24, 1966) is an American painter and musician living in Hastings, East Sussex, England. She was a member of Mambo Taxi and the Voodoo Queens. In 1999, she became one of the founding members of the Stuckist art movement.
E ...
and Sexton Ming
Sexton Ming (born 1961) is a British artist, poet and musician who was a founding member of The Medway Poets (1979) and Stuckism art movement (1999).
Life and career
Ming was born in Gravesend, Kent, England. In 1979 he was one of the founder me ...
. (Like the London gallery it has now ceased operating.)
In September 2004, Blow exhibited in the movement's first major show in a national museum, ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian
''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'' was the first national gallery exhibition of Stuckist art.Moss, Richard"Stuckist's Punk Victorian gatecrashes Walker's Biennial Culture24, 17 September 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2009. It was held at the Walker A ...
'' at the Walker Art Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group.
History of the Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...
during the Liverpool Biennial
Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom.
Every two years, the city of Liverpool hosts an extensive range of artworks, projects, and a programme of events. The biennial commissions leading ...
. He returned for the next Biennial there in 2006 to participate in ''The Triumph of Stuckism
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
'' show and symposium at 68 Hope Street Gallery.
Media coverage
The Australian presence was first noted in an article on the Stuckists in the UK ''Observer'' Sunday newspaper in May 2000.
The participation of the Australian Stuckists in the London ''Vote Stuckist'' show occasioned a double page spread by Gabriella Coslovich in the leading Melbourne paper The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
. It revealed a similar range of reactions to the ones the UK group had received in Britain. Melbourne painter David Larwill
David Larwill (1956–2011) was an Australian artist recognisable by his distinctive and exuberant style based on bold colour, stylised figures and simplified form. Although best known as a figurative expressionist painter, Larwill was also a ...
said, "It's the best thing I've heard in ages." Max Delaney, director of public gallery 200 Gertrude Street, accused the group of "revisionism" and "publicity and marketing". Su Baker, head of the School of Art, Victorian College of the Arts
The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...
, wrote it off as "a cheap shot" (the same accusation which Sir Nicholas Serota
Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota, (born 27 April 1946) is an English art historian and curator, who served as the Director of the Tate from 1988 to 2017. He is currently Chair of Arts Council England, a role which he has held since February 2017.
Se ...
had levelled at Thomson in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. In July Stein repeated the same debate on "Coast to Coast", Channel 2 (ABC TV).
In February 2003, Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Associate of the Royal Academy, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawi ...
was interviewed in ''The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' while in Australia:
:Of the chief YBA critics, the Stuckists, Emin cannot even speak.
:"I don't like it at all," she spat. "I don't really want to talk about it. If your wife was stalked and hounded through the media by someone she'd had a relationship with when she was 18, would you like it? That's what happened to me. I don't find it funny, I find it a bit sick, and I find it very cruel, and I just wish people would get on with their own lives and let me get on with mine."
In August 2003, Australian performance art
Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
ist Stelarc
Stelarc (born Στέλιος Αρκαδίου ''Stelios Arcadiou'' in Limassol in 1946; legally changed his name in 1972) is a Cyprus-born Australian performance artist raised in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, whose works focus heavily on ex ...
's plan to have a human ear grafted onto his forearm drew virulent criticism from UK Stuckists. Melbourne Stuckist, Nigel Stein, said, "Personally, I have been an admirer of Stelarc's work for about 10 years. I would be really interested in seeing the outcome."
The same month, Kouvelis and Thomson were interviewed on ABC Radio National Australia by Francis Leach. In June 2004 Childish (who left the group in 2002) was interviewed on ABC Radio National Australia.
In October 2004 an article, "Breaking New Ground", appeared in the Hills Gazette, Kalamunda, Western Australia, outlining Blow's involvement in the Stuckist movement and representation at the "Stuckist Punk Victorian" exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.
In April 2005 ''The Age'' ran a reprise of Stuckism and observed:
In July 2005, ''State of the Arts'' Australian art magazine gave a survey on the UK and Australian Stuckists, and found:
:Newcastle stone-carver Graham Wilson says he became a Stuckist because he was tired of being ignored by the main arbiters of taste and wanted to embrace the insult that he was not a real sculptor as did Childish when Emin declared he was "stuck".
In December 2005, the Stuckists demonstrated about the Tate Gallery's purchase of their trustee Chris Ofili
Christopher Ofili, (born 10 October 1968) is a British Turner Prize-winning painter who is best known for his paintings incorporating elephant dung. He was one of the Young British Artists. Since 2005, Ofili has been living and working in Trin ...
's work, ''The Upper Room
The Cenacle (from the Latin , "dining room"), also known as the Upper Room (from the Koine Greek and , both meaning "upper room"), is a room in Mount Zion in Jerusalem, just outside the Old City walls, traditionally held to be the site of t ...
'', wearing monkey and elephant masks, outside the Turner Prize at Tate Britain
Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
in London. A syndicated report covered the demonstration in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', ''The Age'', Yahoo Australia, ''ABC News Online'', ''SBS'', ''Seven'' and ''The Australian''. In June 2006 Blow supported the campaign with message board posts.
Groups in Australia
*The Melbourne Stuckists founded in 2000 by Regan Tamanui
Regan Tamanui is an artist based in Melbourne, Australia. In October 2000, he founded the Melbourne Stuckists, the fourth Stuckist of the original Stuckist groups and the first outside the United Kingdom. He has also painted prolifically as ...
*The Newcastle Stuckist Stonecarvers founded in 2001 by Graham Wilson
*The Perth Stuckists founded in 2003 by Godfrey Blow
Godfrey Blow (born 6 October 1948) is an artist based in Kalamunda, Western Australia. He is the founder of the Perth, Western Australia, Perth Stuckism, Stuckists.
Life and art
Godfrey Blow was born in North Hykeham, Lincolnshire, England ...
*The Adelaide Stuckists founded in 2008 by Kay Bridge
*The Sydney Stuckists founded in 2008 by Rone Waugh
*The Brisbane Stuckists founded in 2010 by Krisstie Byrnne
*The Canberra Stuckists founded in 2010 by Nasser Palangi
UK origin
The Stuckists were founded in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
by Charles Thomson and Billy Childish with ten other artists in 1999 to oppose conceptual art and champion painting as the radical medium of self-discovery. The name was derived by Thomson from an insult by Tracey Emin to her ex-boyfriend Childish that he was "stuck", which he had recorded in a poem. The Stuckists have since become an accepted part of the UK art scene and are studied in the educational system, but still remain largely ostracised by the art establishment for their stringent criticisms of it, particularly of the Britart
The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Goldsm ...
, the Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the D ...
and the Turner Prize. They have also launched the period of
Remodernism Remodernism revives aspects of modernism, particularly in its early form, and follows postmodernism, to which it contrasts. Adherents of remodernism advocate it as a forward and radical, not reactionary, impetus.
In 2000, Billy Childish and Charle ...
—"A renewal of spirituality and meaning in art, culture and society".
Antipodeans Group
An earlier group of seven artists in Australia (six of them Melbourne based) called the Antipodeans Group
The Antipodeans (from the Greek: ἀντίποδες meaning literally “those at the antipodes”) were a group of Australian modern artists who asserted the importance of figurative art, and protested against abstract expressionism. Thoug ...
also issued a manifesto to promote modern figurative painting in opposition to the prevailing orthodoxy, which at that time was Abstract Expressionism
Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...
. This was launched in a show of the artists in Melbourne in August 1959. They stated that figurative art "communicates because it has the capacity to refer to experiences that the artist shares with his audience", and that "the image, the recognizable shape, the meaningful symbol, is the basic unit of the artists' language". Like the Stuckists they were accused of conservatism and reaction.
See also
*Art manifesto
An art manifesto is a public declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of an artist or artistic movement. Manifestos are a standard feature of the various movements in the modernist avant-garde and are still written today. Art manifestos a ...
*Art of Australia
Australian art is any art made in or about Australia, or by Australians overseas, from prehistoric times to the present. This includes Aboriginal, Colonial, Landscape, Atelier, early-twentieth-century painters, print makers, photographers, and ...
*Antipodeans Group
The Antipodeans (from the Greek: ἀντίποδες meaning literally “those at the antipodes”) were a group of Australian modern artists who asserted the importance of figurative art, and protested against abstract expressionism. Thoug ...
References
Bibliography
* Ed. Frank Milner (2004), "The Stuckists Punk Victorian" National Museums Liverpool,
External links
Melbourne Stuckists
Kaye Blum (Screenworks Directory)
''State of the Arts'' magazine
{{Stuckism
Australian art
Stuckism
Arts in Australia