Conceptual Art Throws Down Questions at Tate Britain
BY Michael Prodger | April 17, 2016
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Keith Arnatt 'Self Burial'
(Courtesy of Tate )
There is no longer anything new about the idea of conceptual art, it is the stock in trade of both galleries and art schools, but at its inception it was deeply challenging and, indeed, many of the 70 pieces (by 21 artists) in the show have kept that edge. The passage of some 40 years does not make viewing them either an easy aesthetic experience or one of quaint historicism.
The diving line in conceptual art is how successful is the form chosen to express the artist’s idea. In 1969 Keith Arnatt examined the concept of transience by literally burying himself in the landscape. For “Self-Burial (Television Interference Project)” a photograph was taken of each stage as he disappeared into the ground – from feet to hips to shoulders and head – and shown on German television for two seconds a time on nine consecutive days. No explanation was given: here was a “happening”, a provocation and an enigma all at once. Whatever it was “Self-Burial” kept the attention.
The same is not true of every exhibit. While, for example, Mary Kelly’s “Post-Partum Document,” 1974-8, an examination of the mother-child relationship that uses soiled nappy linings, card indexes of her child’s first words and medical documents, has sound philosophical underpinnings that its visual effect doesn’t match. The installation is big, unwieldy and documentary and not interesting enough to the eye to entice the viewer to engage fully with the idea.
The passage of time has exacerbated this disjunction: the hold that theory and philosophy had in the 1960s and 1970s is no longer quite so tight. It is good to be reminded that now-familiar artists such as Craig-Martin himself, Richard Long, Barry Flanagan and Bruce McLean were high-concept pioneers before they went on to forge successful careers producing less demanding works. Many of their peers though – Ed Herring, John Hilliard, John Latham for example – have since fallen by the wayside in terms of public and critical recognition.
One leaves this exhibition in two minds, both lauding the artists for challenging so concertedly the old concepts of art but also cursing some of them for opening the doors to great tranches of sterile art.
“Conceptual Art in Britain 1964-1979” is at Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG, through August 29, 2016. Information: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/conceptual-art-britain-1964-1979
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Conceptual Art in Britain 1964–1979
Tate Britain: Exhibition
12 April – 29 August 2016
Join Tate as a Member for unlimited, free exhibition entry
Adult £12.00 (without donation £10.90)
Concession £10.50 (without donation £9.50)
Help Tate by including the voluntary donation to enable Gift Aid
No booking fees with this exhibition
Under 12s go free (up to four per parent or guardian). Family tickets available (two adults and two children 12-18 years) by telephone or in the gallery.
Tickets can be booked 8 hours or more in advance online, and at least 24 hours or more in advance by telephone +44 (0)20 7887 8888
Adult £12.00 (without donation £10.90)
Concession £10.50 (without donation £9.50)
Help Tate by including the voluntary donation to enable Gift Aid
No booking fees with this exhibition
Under 12s go free (up to four per parent or guardian). Family tickets available (two adults and two children 12-18 years) by telephone or in the gallery.
Tickets can be booked 8 hours or more in advance online, and at least 24 hours or more in advance by telephone +44 (0)20 7887 8888
3 of 9
- John Hilliard
Camera Recording its Own Condition (7 Apertures, 10 Speeds, 2 Mirrors) 1971
Photographs on card on perspex
image: 2162 x 1832 mm
Presented by Colin St John Wilson 1980© John Hilliard
It gathers together artists who took art beyond its traditional boundaries to suggest new ways of engaging with the realities of the world beyond the studio, which ultimately led to a questioning of the function and social purpose of art.
The radical and controversial work both scrutinised and consistently took inspiration from the real world. Asking what art is, as well as what it might be for, inevitably led some artists to create work that was often politically engaged with themes and issues ranging from feminism to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Seen within the context of its time, spanning Harold Wilson’s first Labour government to the election of Margaret Thatcher, this show reveals conceptual art’s lasting legacy.
Artists featured within the show include, among others: Keith Arnatt, Art & Language, Conrad Atkinson, Victor Burgin, Michael Craig-Martin, Hamish Fulton, Margaret Harrison, Susan Hiller, John Hilliard, Mary Kelly, John Latham, Richard Long, Bruce McLean, David Tremlett and Stephen Willats.
‘absolutely exhilarating’
***** Evening Standard
‘explore how the conceptual art movement changed the art world, attacked society, drew controversy, and changed the world.’
i-D online
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In the 1960s artists began to abandon traditional approaches and made ideas the essence of their work. This fascinating exhibition explores this pivotal period in British history, which changed the way we think about art to this day.
It gathers together artists who took art beyond its traditional boundaries to suggest new ways of engaging with the realities of the world beyond the studio, which ultimately led to a questioning of the function and social purpose of art.
The radical and controversial work both scrutinised and consistently took inspiration from the real world. Asking what art is, as well as what it might be for, inevitably led some artists to create work that was often politically engaged with themes and issues ranging from feminism to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Seen within the context of its time, spanning Harold Wilson’s first Labour government to the election of Margaret Thatcher, this show reveals conceptual art’s lasting legacy.
Artists featured within the show include, among others: Keith Arnatt, Art & Language, Conrad Atkinson, Victor Burgin, Michael Craig-Martin, Hamish Fulton, Margaret Harrison, Susan Hiller, John Hilliard, Mary Kelly, John Latham, Richard Long, Bruce McLean, David Tremlett and Stephen Willats.
‘absolutely exhilarating’
***** Evening Standard
‘explore how the conceptual art movement changed the art world, attacked society, drew controversy, and changed the world.’
i-D online
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