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Stuckist demonstrations since 2000 have been a key part of the Stuckist art group's activities and have succeeded in giving them a high-profile both in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and abroad. Their primary agenda is the promotion of
painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...
and opposition to
conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...
. Their demonstrations are particularly associated with 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 E ...
(sometimes dressed as clowns to mock the museum), but have also been carried out at other venues, including
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comme ...
and 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 Da ...
. There have also been other protests in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
by US Stuckists, and there have been Stuckist events against the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
in 2003. They have received extensive media coverage for these events both in the UK and internationally, and become possible suspects for any London art protests, as in Matthew Collings' description of the opening of
Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It i ...
in 2000: "Guilt-free art lovers crossed picket lines put up by envious artist-outsiders. They didn't know who was protesting out there. Maybe it was the Stuckists."Collings, Matthew (2001). ''Art Crazy Nation'', page 16, 21 Publishing Ltd. There is, however, no mention of any such demonstration on the Stuckism website.Stuckism International official site
Retrieved March 27, 2006
Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate gallery, has recognised the demonstrations as a contribution to artistic debate,"Tate rejects £500,000 gift from 'unoriginal' Stuckists", The Times, July 28, 2005
Retrieved March 28, 2006
and the Tate archive contains material from the demonstrations,Nordland, Rod
"You call that art?"
''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'', October 4, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
which are now a staple feature of 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) ...
process.Culture24 staff
"Stuckists launch their annual protest against the Turner Prize at Tate Britain"
Culture24, September 29, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2009.


The Stuckists

The Stuckists were founded in 1999 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 ...
to promote figurative painting and oppose conceptual art. Thomson derived the name of the group from an insult by
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 ...
to her ex-boyfriend Childish that he was "stuck". The original group of 13 artists has now grown to an international movement of 183 groups in 44 countries, as of November 2008. (Childish left the group in 2001.)


Clowns at the Tate

The Stuckists have demonstrated annually 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 E ...
on the occasion of 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) ...
since 2000, and have been featured extensively in the media for their appearances. The demonstrations have adopted a variety of themes to make their point, which is simply that the prize is named after a famous painter, but painting is neglected by it in favour of other media. Their Turner Prize manifesto comments: "The only person who wouldn't be in danger of winning the Turner Prize is Turner."Stuckists Turner Prize Manifesto
Retrieved March 27, 2006
This is a leaflet they have handed out to the public and prize ceremony guests. Although they have always been outside the building during the actual prize ceremony, they have, on two occasions, been mentioned by the guest of honour on live TV, just before the announcement of the winner—by Sir Peter Blake in 2003 and by Culture Minister,
David Lammy David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tott ...
in 2005."Archive of demos" www.stuckism.com
Retrieved March 22, 2006


2000

The first Stuckist demonstration took place outside Tate Britain on Turner Prize day, 28 November 2000. The group took care to work within the regulations in order to subvert them and ridicule the institution. They were dressed as clowns, and had obtained advance permission to enter the museum in this costume. They announced on their web site (and in the London
Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after b ...
):"Send in the Clowns for Turner", ''Evening Standard'', October 16, 2000.
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United King ...
's godmother, the late Margaret Walsh, announced the "Art Clown of the Year" for "outstanding idiocy in the visual arts" was
Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi (; ar, تشارلز ساعتجي; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest ...
, the prize being a custard pie, which the winner was expected to purchase and administer on themselves."Clowns at the Tate" in "A Stuckist on Stuckism", stuckism.com
Retrieved March 27, 2006
This award continued to be made in subsequent years. They then paraded outside
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 E ...
in clown costumes, walked into the museum and around the exhibition itself. To coincide with the Tate's show, they also staged their own concurrent show ''The Real Turner Prize Show'' with simultaneous shows of the same name in Germany and Australia. ''The Guardian'' announced the winner of the real Turner Prize with the headline "Turner Winner Riles the Stuckists"."Turner Winner Riles the Stuckists", The Guardian, November 29, 2000
Retrieved March 26, 2000


2001

There was a demonstration in ordinary clothes at the Prize press launch on 6 November. ''
The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
'' said, "In certain respects the Turner Prize never changes: art fleetingly makes the front pages; the dreary Stuckists protest outside the Tate and the winner gets a cheque for 20 grand.""The critics: Visual art - Big thrills in the broom cupboard", ''
The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
'', 11 November 2001.
Another demonstration took place on the Prize ceremony day, 9 December: this reached a worldwide TV audience, when it was syndicated by
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was establ ...
."Turner Prize demo 2001"
stuckism.com. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
The work of one nominee,
Martin Creed Martin Creed (born 21 October 1968) is a British artist, composer and performer. He won the Turner Prize in 2001 for exhibitions during the preceding year, with the jury praising his audacity for exhibiting a single installation, ''Work No. 22 ...
, was an empty room, where the lights went on and off every five seconds. The demonstrators dressed in clown costume and shone torches in protest. Ekow Eshun wrote, "if scandal equated directly to success then this year's winners should probably be the Stuckists, the ragged band of artist malcontents who've turned their annual placard-waving anti-Turner protest outside the Tate into a kind of art event of their own that now generates press attention from around the world." The Stuckists gave their "Art Clown of the Year Award" to Sir Nicholas Serota. Other nominees were
Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi (; ar, تشارلز ساعتجي; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest ...
(the winner in 2000),
Norman Rosenthal Sir Norman Rosenthal (born 8 November 1944) is a British independent curator and art historian. From 1970 to 1974 he was Exhibitions Officer at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. In 1974 he became a curator at the Institute of Contemporary Arts ...
and Sarah Kent.


2002

There was a demonstration at the Turner Prize press launch on 29 October, and one in clown costume on the prize day, 8 December. The "Art Clown of the Year Award" was given to Serota again, with the commendation, "The judges were extremely impressed by Sir Nicholas's ability to create a Turner Prize show which was even worse than last year's", and announced in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' with the headline: "A custard pie for Serota as Turner Prize winner named.""A custard pie for Serota as Turner Prize winner named", The Daily Telegraph, December 9, 2002
Retrieved March 27, 2006
Meanwhile, the Stuckism International Gallery staged ''The Real Turner Prize Show 2002''.


2003

In 2003, the Stuckists displayed two blow-up sex dolls to parody
Jake and Dinos Chapman Iakovos "Jake" Chapman (born 1966) and Konstantinos "Dinos" Chapman (born 1962) are British visual artists, often known as the Chapman Brothers. Their subject matter tries to be deliberately shocking, including, in 2008, a series of works that ...
's bronze (painted) sculpture modelled on one."Turner Prize Goes to Perry – and Claire", The Guardian, December 8, 2003
Retrieved March 22, 2006
As guests, including Jay Jopling,
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 ...
, Victoria Miro and Jake Chapman, arrived, they were greeted with the announcement, "Turner Prize preview—see the original here and the copy inside." Sarah Kent, art editor of Time Out, commented, "Fucking Stuckists... yes, you can quote me." Inside Tate Britain, on live television, Serota introduced Sir Peter Blake, who before he announced the winner, started his speech: "Thank you very much Nick. I'm quite surprised to be here tonight, because two days ago I had a phone call asking if I would be a judge for the Not the Turner Prize. And two years ago I was asked by the Stuckists to dress as a clown and come and be on the steps outside, so I am thrilled and slightly surprised to be here." There were cheers from the guests.


2004

There were two Stuckist demonstrations, one at the press launch on 19 October and one at the prize-giving day on 6 December. On 10 October,
Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi (; ar, تشارلز ساعتجي; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest ...
had been quoted in the press as saying there were not enough painters in the Prize—"For the last 10 years, only five of the 40 Turner Prize artists have been pure painters." "Saatchi's Latest Shock for the Art World Is – Painting", The Daily Telegraph, October 10, 2004
Retrieved March 27, 2006
The Stuckists turned this to their advantage with placards such as: "Charles Saatchi & Stuckists v the Tate" and "No painters in the Turner Prize for the last 4 years!". The Turner show itself was characterised by video and computer imagery, including a virtual tour of one of
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated ...
's former residences. Thomson was quoted by the BBC website: "A lot of the stuff this year would be suitable for a Channel 4 documentary. There is no need for this to be in the Tate gallery when television does exactly the same thing.""Light at the end of the Turner Show", BBC News Online, October 19, 2004
/ref> To bring their point home, the Stuckists handed out a leaflet which read, with the mock tone of officialdom: "We apologise for the lack of art in this year's Turner Prize. As an alternative, you will find a display of enthusiasts' television programmes and computer games."
Retrieved March 27, 2006
They also announced:


2005

The Stuckists demonstrated 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) ...
on 6 December 2005 against the Tate's purchase of its 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''. They displayed placards with slogans such as "£25,000 Turner Prize, £705,000 Trustee Prize", and wore monkey and elephant masks, referring to the monkeys Ofili had painted in his work, as well as the trademark balls of elephant dung it was propped on."Shed Wins $58,000 Art Prize", Sydney Morning Herald December 6, 2005 (a Reuters syndicated report)
Retrieved March 28, 2006
The demonstrators were approached by Sir Nicholas Serota, and the atmosphere was tense, according to Thomson: "I thought he was going to explode ... I looked at his face and I thought, this guy's going to lose it and hit me, or he's going to burst into tears.""How Ageing Art Punks Got Stuck into Tate's Serota", The Observer, December 11, 2005
Retrieved March 23, 2006
Andrew Marr, a guest at the evening Prize reception, commented, "When they picketed us, the Stuckists seemed to me affable and intelligent people", although he strongly disagreed with them over Ofili's work.Notebook by Andrew Marr (2nd item), The Daily Telegraph, December 7, 2005
Retrieved March 24, 2006
That evening in front of guests at the award ceremony in what Marr described as a "moment of rare passion" and an "unusual, possibly unprecedented" move, Serota spoke out with "an angry defence" of the purchase, saying, "I defy anybody who has actually taken the time and trouble to see the work not to agree with the trustees' decision to acquire this most extraordinary and important piece of work."
Retrieved March 24, 2006
Following this, David Lammy, the Culture Minister, made a brief speech before presenting the award, commenting, "Every year, the Turner Prize makes contemporary art the talk of the airwaves ... Stuckists threaten never to paint again",
Retrieved March 28, 2006
(although there is no evidence they had ever made such a statement). The Stuckists were included in reports on the Prize by the four UK broadsheets and in a Reuters syndication internationally, where Thomson commented, "The Tate is run by a self-serving clique who hide behind secretiveness" and "The real prize at the Tate is becoming a trustee. It's worth far more money." The winner, Simon Starling had converted a shed into a boat and back again; ''The Times'' quoted Thomson that "The Turner should be renamed the B&Q diy prize.""One Man and His Boat Sail into a Storm over the Turner", The Times, December 6, 2006
Retrieved March 28, 2006


2006

The Stuckists handed Sir Nicholas Serota a demonstration leaflet with a Turner Prize "health warning" on one side (claiming that "the exhibits may cause drowsiness or headaches") and Thomson's painting of him on the other. He held it up and said, "Can't you make another image?"
Retrieved 2008-04-05
Tate chairman Paul Myners informed demonstrating artist, John Bourne, "We are grateful for the extra publicity the Stuckists have given the Tate". The Stuckists picketed the 2006 ceremony with placards bearing the slogan 'Is It All A Fix?', a quote from Turner judge Lynn Barber, who had broken with convention by writing about the judging process in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
''.Barber, Lynn (200
"My Turner's over. Phew!
''The Observer, 10 December 2006. Accessed 16 January 2007
She encountered the demonstrators, whilst going outside from the judging to have a cigarette, afterwards saying she was horrified to see her words displayed: "The words were taken completely out of context (I dread to think how often celebs have said that to me in interviews, and how often I have disbelieved them) but now I am stuck with being a hero of the Stuckist tendency. I scuttled back into the Tate and survived three hours without nicotine rather than risk encountering them again. Thomson's quote that winner Tomma Abts' work resembled "doodles done by a lobotomised computer" appeared in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its s ...
'' and in media abroad.


2007

The Stuckists announced that they were not demonstrating for the first time since 2000, because of "the lameness of this year’s show, which does not merit the accolade of the traditional demo". They criticised the "recycling" of nominees as being laziness by the jury (two of the four had been nominated in previous years) and stated that Tate Chairman, Paul Myners had previously thanked them for giving the Tate extra publicity. They also claimed that Mark Wallinger had copied their idea of walking round a museum dressed in a costume, that he was indistinguishable from a Stuckist demonstrator, and that his work was "utter bilge", which had "all the excitement of watching a pensioner do the shopping at Asda".


2008

There was a demonstration by the artists, wearing black top hats, on 29 September, the day before the show opened, when they gave out a leaflet with a "Not wanted" poster for Serota and button badges with the text "The Turner Prize is crap", although they had not yet seen the exhibition. Condemning the Tate's promotion of conceptual art and the lack of figurative painting in the show (citing Stella Vine as one painter who has been passed over), Thomson said, "The work is not of sufficient quality in terms of accomplishment, innovation or originality of thought to warrant exhibition in a national museum." Demonstration material is stored in the Tate archive and Tate officials have thanked the demonstrators for generating publicity; Tate Britain director, Stephen Deuchar, said, "In a sense, that is the whole point of the prize: to encourage public debate." Richard Brooks, writing in ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...
'' said of the Turner Prize show, "the mediocre standard has almost turned me into a supporter of the Stuckists."


Turner Prize manifesto

Childish and Thomson issued a Turner Prize manifesto, dated 1 September 2000. The text is:


Tate response

Sir Nicholas Serota wrote to the Stuckists in 2005, rejecting a donation of Stuckist paintings, but saying he wanted to ensure "the Tate archive, as the national record of art in Britain, properly represents the contribution of the Stuckist movement to debates about contemporary art in recent years." In 2006, Tate chairman, Paul Myners, thanked the Stuckists for providing the Tate with extra publicity.


New Blood feud with Saatchi

The Stuckists had declared their opposition to
Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi (; ar, تشارلز ساعتجي; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest ...
from the outset, criticising what they saw as the vacuity of
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 ...
: "You can't help feeling that Saatchi's insipid sensationalism would make Duchamp wish that he'd never ever exhibited his piss-pot in the first place and had become a water-colourist instead.""An Open Letter to Sir Nicholas Serota" by the Stuckists
Retrieved March 27, 2006


A dead shark isn't art 2003

In 2003, 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 Da ...
re-opened at County Hall with a
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United King ...
retrospective, which included the exhibition of his refurbished piece, ''The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living'', a shark in a tank of formaldehyde. On the same day as the Saatchi opening, the Stuckism International Gallery in
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 impo ...
—under the title ''A Dead Shark Isn't Art''— exhibited another dead shark, which had first been put on public display in 1989 (two years before Hirst's was first shown) by Eddie Saunders in his Shoreditch shop, JD Electrical Supplies. The Stuckists suggested Hirst may have seen this at the time and copied it, and pointed out that whether Hirst plagiarised Saunders work or not, Saunders was the real pioneering artist."A Dead Shark Isn't Art" on the Stuckism International web site
Retrieved March 20, 2006


Stella Vine and OFT 2004

In February 2004, Saatchi bought ''Hi Paul Can You Come Over'', a painting by ex-stripper Stella Vine of
Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, Prince of Wales, ...
with blood coming from the mouth (it was then exhibited in his next show, ''New Blood''). There was international media reporting of this. Vine was talked of as "the new star of the Brit art scene", commenting, "I didn't think anyone really liked what I was doing", and that she had only been painting for four years "after accompanying her son Jamie, 18, to Hampstead School of Art" (a private college)."First Blood to Saatchi as a Star Is Born", The Daily Telegraph, February 24, 2006
Retrieved March 27, 2006
This caused a strong reaction from the Stuckists. Vine had for a short time been a member of their group, and they had first exhibited her in 2001, when she was also (briefly) married to Charles Thomson. She had even been a nominee for their ''Real Turner Prize Show''. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' newspaper validated these claims and reported Thomson's complaint that Saatchi had been "stealing their identity as he tires of the Britart scene"."Saatchi and Stuckists Brush in War of the Art Worlds", The Independent, March 5, 2004. Thomson and eleven other people (including non-Stuckists, such as David Lee and Christopher Fiddes of the Movement for Classical Renewal) then reported Saatchi to the
Office of Fair Trading , type = Non-ministerial government department , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Office of Fair Trading (United Kingdom) (logo).png , logo_width = 255px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , ...
."Charles Saatchi 'Abuses His Hold on British Art Market'", ''The Independent on Sunday'', March 28, 2004. The grievance was: However, the complaint was not upheld and the OFT pronounced, "We do not have reasonable grounds to suspect that Charles Saatchi is in a dominant position in any relevant market", which Thomson turned to advantage by spotting the unintended slight and remarking that it was "just another cruel smack in the face" for Saatchi."Charles Saatchi and the OFT Attack", A Stuckist on Stuckism, stuckism.com
Retrieved March 28, 2006


The Triumph of Painting 2005

The Stuckists' concerns were not alleviated, when, at the end of 2004, Saatchi announced that he was putting his Britart holding into storage and devoting the next year to exhibitions featuring only painting. A few months prior to this announcement, Saatchi had stood outside the Stuckism International gallery,"Saatchi Stuck in Street", ''The Independent'', May 18, 2004. reading not only a placard that declared "STUCKIST ART IN 2001 IS SAATCHI ART IN 2004" (referring to Stella Vine), but also the anti-conceptual art, pro-painting Stuckist manifesto, which was on display.
Retrieved March 28, 2006
Thomson responded immediately in the press to the announcement of Saatchi's change of direction, with the accusation: "almost verbatim, he's stolen the introduction to our manifesto." When the show, ''The Triumph of Painting'', opened at the Saatchi Gallery on 25 October 2005, the Stuckists mounted a picket outside, handing leaflets to the incoming guests (who included Saatchi's wife
Nigella Lawson Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook. She attended Godolphin and Latymer School, London. After graduating from the University of Oxford, where she was a member of Lady Margaret Hall, Lawson s ...
), and displaying placards stating, "Stuckism leads, Saatchi follows" and "Stuckism in 1999 is Saatchi in 2005". They also wore tall hats with Saatchi's face on,Stuckists demo at the Saatchi Gallery on stuckism.com
Retrieved March 22, 2006
and Thomson was photographed inside the gallery opening, wearing a T-shirt with the words "Saatchi the Stuckist"."Toast of the Town, Photos by Thierry Bal on artnet.com
Retrieved March 28, 2006


Other UK demonstrations


Trafalgar Square

The Stuckists demonstrated in 2001 in Trafalgar Square, when
Rachel Whiteread Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993. Whiteread was one of the Young British A ...
's statue, ''Monument'', was unveiled. This was a resin cast of the fourth (vacant) plinth in the square, and was inverted on the existing plinth. It represents the type of
conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...
that the Stuckists strongly oppose. The statue was unveiled by 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 ...
, Chris Smith, against whom Thomson was standing 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. At this point Stuckist protesters (one of whom was Stella Vine) in the watching crowd held up protest placards. Thomson jumped over the metal crowd barrier onto the now-vacant podium and used the PA system to make an address about the complete absence of paintings in that year's Turner Prize (referring to a comment by Smith the previous year that there should be more paintings in the Prize). At the same time he held up a placard, which read, "Mr Smith, do you really think this stupid plinth is a work of art?""The Battle of Trafalgar", A Stuckist on Stuckism, stuckism.com
Retrieved March 28, 2006
When the PA system was switched off by an official, Thomson made his way back through the crowd and was surprised to find that an angry Serota had followed him. :Serota: "That was a cheap shot, using another artist's work to promote your ideas." :Thomson: "It's Dada." :Serota: "So that gives you the right to do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it?" :Thomson: "You and a few people like you control the art world and what goes on in it, and as artists this is the only way we can put our point of view across." : (At this point Serota walked off.) :Thomson: "That was Sir Nicholas Serota, the director of the Tate Gallery. Three cheers for Sir Nicholas." The Stuckism website headed its report on the incident with a quote from Serota's book ''Experience or Interpretation'': "a willingness ... to risk offence by unexpected confrontation can yield rewards"
Retrieved March 28, 2006


The Death of Conceptual Art

In 1999, the Stuckists art group had declared themselves "opposed to the sterility of the white wall gallery system", and, three years later, they opened their own Stuckism International gallery (with coloured walls) in
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 impo ...
in an adjoining street to the
White Cube White Cube is a contemporary art gallery founded by Jay Jopling in London in 1993. The gallery has two branches in London: White Cube Mason's Yard in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London; White Cube Hong Kong, in Cent ...
gallery, which represents
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 ...
and
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United King ...
. To celebrate the opening on 25 July 2002, they dressed as clowns, processed the short distance from Charlotte Road over
Old Street Old Street is a street in inner north-east Central London that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shoreditch H ...
and deposited a coffin, marked "The Death of Conceptual Art", outside the White Cube's door with the comment, "This is the official date for the demise of conceptual art.""The Death of Conceptual Art", A Stuckist on Stuckism, stuckism.com
Retrieved March 28, 2006


General election

In 2001, Stuckist Co-founder,
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 ...
stood as a Stuckist candidate for the 2001 British General Election, on an anti-Britart ticket, in the constituency of Islington South and Finsbury, against Chris Smith, the
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 ...
. Thomson picked up 108 votes (0.4%).


Cutting the string

In spring 2003, artist Cornelia Parker was allowed by the authorities to wrap
Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
’s sculpture '' The Kiss'' (1886) in
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 E ...
in a mile of string."No Strings Attached" The Guardian
Retrieved March 22, 2006
Many people felt it offensive to the original artwork and an act of vandalism rather than art. As a reaction, Stuckist artist Piers Butler cut the string, while couples stood around engaging in live kissing. However, this was described as an individual action outside the main Stuckist group by Thomson, who nevertheless took the opportunity to remark: "I was puzzled that Parker had been allowed to do her string-wrapping—thereby using another artist's work to promote her ideas—as this was precisely the allegation that an enraged Serota had thrown at me in Trafalgar Square and dubbed a 'cheap shot'."
Retrieved March 22, 2006


US Stuckist demonstrations


Seattle Pigs on Parade

In May 2001, the
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
Stuckist group (J. Puma, Z.F. Lively, Amanda Perrin and Brett Hamil) protested with placards, such as "Art-vertising is bad for the soul" and "Tacky and lame", against "Pigs on Parade", large fibreglass pigs which had been installed in the city and decorated by artists to make money for charity. Their objection was to commercial devaluation of art through "an insidious trend in corporate art-vertising. It appeals to the lowest public tastes by providing a kitschy, totally predigested and inoffensive McArt for the masses." (Social or ethical comment was banned from the designs.) King 5 News mentioned the group (with a "glib chuckle"), but otherwise the event went unreported. There was a certain amount of public support, and Hamil concluded: "For some reason, Stuckists are saddled with the task of vocalizing what everyone already knows, and yet that doesn't make it any less valid. It just makes it that much more regrettable that no one's said it yet."Seattle Stuckists report on "Pigs on Parade"
Retrieved March 27, 2006


Clown Trial of President Bush

In order to "highlight the fact that the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
does not have the support of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
, thus violating a binding contract with the UN", ''The Clown Trial of President Bush'' took place at 7 p.m. on March 21, 2003 on the steps of the
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
Federal Courthouse, staged by local Stuckist artists dressed in clown costume, led by Jesse Richards, Nicholas Watson and Tony Juliano. One of the participants was "a public defender for the state of CT. He thought it would be cool to dress up with us as clowns and do the thing. He ended up playing the clown judge. The courthouse that he works at is a block away from the federal courthouse where we did this."Clown Trial of President Bush on stuckism.com
Retrieved March 27, 2006
Simultaneously the New Haven Stuckism International gallery run by them opened a ''War on Bush'' show, including work from Brazil, Germany and the UK, while the London Stuckism International Gallery staged a "War on Blair" show.
Retrieved March 27, 2006
''The Yale Herald'' reported with the headline, "Stuckists scoff at 'crap,' war". Richards took the opportunity to comment, " Duchamp would go over to the
Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut ...
and he would say, 'This is crap,' and he would go paint a picture.""Stuckists scoff at 'crap' war", The Yale Herald, March 28, 2003
Retrieved March 27, 2006


Protest shows and art

The Stuckists have made use of their art shows in order also to promote a message. The name of the group itself is an ironic pre-emptive riposte to their anticipated enemies—as represented in the first instance by former colleague-turned- YBA,
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 ...
, who had called the group's co-founder,
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 ...
, "stuck". The group's first show in 1999 was titled, ''Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!''. In 2000, they made an overt challenge with a show titled, ''The Resignation of Sir Nicholas Serota''. A painting in the show, '' Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision'' by Charles Thomson, has since been reproduced in the media many times and become an iconic image for the Stuckists. In 2005, another show was called: ''"Painting Is the Medium of Yesterday"—Paul Myners CBE, Chairman of Tate Gallery, Chairman of Marks and Spencer, Chairman of Aspen Insurance, Chairman of Guardian Media, Director of Bank of England, Director of Bank of New York. A Show of Paintings by the Stuckists, as Refused by the Tate Gallery. Guaranteed 100% Free of Elephant Dung.'' '' The Stuckists Punk Victorian'' exhibition 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 2004 Liverpool Biennial including a free-standing screen with paintings attacking the Turner Prize and the Tate gallery. Michael Dickinson has exhibited political and satirical
collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...
s, addressing the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
and world leaders, particularly US President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. In 2006 he was told he faced prosecution in Turkey, where he lives, for his collage ''Best in Show'', showing the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan as a dog."Blair asked to help artist facing jail", ''The Sunday Times'' online, June 11, 2006.
Retrieved June 12, 2006
He was subsequently prosecuted for a similar collage, ''Good Boy'', and acquitted in a case that had implications for Turkey's application for membership of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
.Tait, Robert
"Turkish court acquits British artist over portraying PM as US poodle"
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 26 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.


Anti-Stuckist demonstration

There has only been one known anti-Stuckist demonstration, which was in 1999, when two Chinese
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 ...
ists jumped on
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 ...
's installation ''My Bed'', in 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 E ...
. The pair had various words written on their bodies, including "Anti-Stuckism". Their explanation is that they were opposed to the Stuckists, who are anti-
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 ...
."The Jumping Chinese Gentlemen at It again" Herr von Stuck's Hot Gossip Page
Retrieved March 22, 2006
According to Fiachra Gibbons of ''The Guardian'', the event "will go down in art history as the defining moment of the new and previously unheard of Anti-Stuckist Movement."
Retrieved March 22, 2006


See also

* Art manifesto * Demonstration


Notes and references

The online essay "A Stuckist on Stuckism" on stuckism.com is taken from the book:
Ed. Frank Milner (2004), ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'' National Museums Liverpool,


External links


Demos on Stuckism official web site




* ttp://www.3ammagazine.com/buzzwordsblog/2006/12/why-i-demonstrated-against-turner.html "Why I Demonstrated Against the Turner Prize for Seven Years" by Charles Thomson
2005 demonstration flyer in the Tate Gallery archive
{{Stuckism Stuckism Tate galleries