Podcast: Antony Gormley: Art, religion, and the battle for culture

Antony Gormley spoke at length in a podcast recently. It included some of the most intelligent and articulate points about art and culture that I've heard in a very long time. Particularly since programmes about art history disappeared along with BBC4 original programming.

One of the reasons I'm highlighting it because I've listened to Gormley speak at length about his art, drawing and the processes he used in person a long time ago - but I still remember how impressed I was with him and his thoughts at the time (see the end for more about this encounter - and my blog post with quotable quotes plus my sketch of Gormley's head)

PODCAST: Antony Gormley: Art, religion, and the battle for culture

This is:

• an Apple Podcast link to Antony Gormley: Art, religion, and the battle for culture 
• the Global Player link to the same podcast

Can Britain remain a cultural superpower post-Brexit? How does religion and philosophy inform creativity? How can we prevent arts from being cut from curriculums?

• The podcast show you can find it on is LEADING which is hosted by "Alistair and Rory" (they've left their surnames off the blurb so I will too!) - but don't let that worry you. There is remarkably little politics about it for those who are more used to their "The Rest is Politics" podcast.

TALK: Antony Gormley on Drawing (21st January 2008)

'Drawing what you can't see'

pen and ink in Moleskine sketchbook

copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This is my blog post Antony Gormley on drawing - at the Jerwood. It includes some soundbites which I kept writing down as he was talking as he is so articulate and incisive! Here's a couple

"Drawing is like thinking out loud"

"Drawing is a form of explanation. It's a notation of a journey"

I drew Antony Gormley - and made notes - while he gave a Gallery Talk to a small audience at the Jerwood Space.  The exhibition was about the relationship between sculpture and drawing. 

Three artists, for whom drawing is a major part of their professional practice have been invited to give Gallery talks during the course of the exhibition and Antony Gormley gave the first of these last night - "Drawing From & Drawing Out".

I had a partial view of him so drew what I could see until I got a better view - hence the starts which never finished! 

I've been told in the past I draw like I'm sculpting - which is a pretty accurate way of describing what I think I'm doing when drawing heads.

Oliver Dowden - Secretary of State for Culture and competing priorities and perspectives

Yesterday, The Guardian laid into the Government and its culture policy in this Editorial The Guardian view on culture policy: yet another shambles

Commenting on the current state of play, the Editor indulges in some fighting of an agenda possibly of The Guardian's own invention i.e. no facts just "a sense".....

"They sense an indifference and even disdain for their work from Downing Street, and hear rumblings that the arts should move towards a future of operating on an “American model” where private fundraising replaces state support. But this is pure fantasy, and a stale one at that, endlessly mooted a decade ago when Jeremy Hunt was the secretary of state for culture. Unlike the US, the UK does not have a deeply embedded culture of philanthropic giving. Even if it did, in a tanking economy it is laughable to imagine huge sums of money being raised privately; and the possession of large endowments has certainly not protected American arts organisations from the ravages of the pandemic."

I don't disagree with what they're saying in that paragraph

However I do think there are other important reasons (pandemic being the most obvious) as to why a policy for culture might be slow to emerge.

Mind you it's now fairly routine for the Guardian to have a go at the government on anything and everything across the board.  

Which leaves me pondering on whether or not this is a real issue.

The thing is.....

The Guardian always seem to have a view that people are belligerent (i.e. actively obstruct) or ignorant (i.e. do not understand) in terms of things 

• NOT going the way the Guardian wants to see them go. 
• Or sometimes NOT going the way that those who lobby journalists would like to see them go.

The Tories may regard the arts as a mere irritant, dominated by noisy, needy, left-leaning liberals.

My personal career experience of real life and real government is that this is not the way it happens.  

It's far more likely that the topic has just not risen to the top of an agenda of competing priorities - and indeed a topic or policy area may be competing with some powerful bedfellows for attention (the plight of the Care Home sector relative to the NHS is a case in point)

Also - for the most part - a lot of what happens in relation to priorities and what gets done can depend on who's in charge rather than what "the policy" says (and what does it say - the Guardian didn't reference this!)

So we have two key issues:

1. Culture is part of a Department which is about Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). i.e. very wide ranging and diverse topics
• Digital is the most important right now
• the remainder are in alphabetical order
• previous incarnations of this department have always suggested to me that the order of importance of "the others" is Media / Sport (interchangeable) and then Culture bringing up the rear - by some distance
2. Oliver Dowden, The current Secretary of State for DCMS appears to have no particular interest in or background in Culture

Oliver Dowden's Twitter Feed

However if we dig deeper his official Twitter Feed indicates he's been getting out and about and meeting people and visiting organisations of late. Mind you this is the man in charge of "Digital" who only got a Twitter account in September 2019!

Visited @glyndebourne this evening to see one of the outdoor performances

V welcome to see some early green shoots of performing arts & we’ll keep working for more

Thanks to all the performers, and to staff working hard to keep the audience safe as they enjoyed the opera pic.twitter.com/BIHNWk8uEf

— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) August 18, 2020

Here's an example of recent announcements by the DCMS - illustrating the diverse agenda competing for Dowden's attention.

Interestingly however "The Stage" takes a different view about Dowden

Leading figures in the arts had little faith he would be able to rescue their sector from the disastrous impact of Covid-19, and were getting ready to go mad at him with rage.

Instead of which he and Rishi Sunak astonished the world of the arts, at the start of this week, with a package of support for the arts which the leading figures queued up to praise.

As Charlotte Gill pointed out on ConHome, Dowden had been underestimated.

Here is a minister who knows how to get things done, including the tricky art of persuading the Treasury to part with the necessary funds.

So who knows - maybe The Guardian is just listening to the wrong people?  

Or has yet to get a grip on how government works in practice - and how priorities get changed in a pandemic?

It's also possible that The Guardian missed the point that the Arts Council is a pivotal body in terms of the distribution of pandemic funds

Try reading two articles from the Arts Council - on their website

• Delivering the Government's Culture Recovery Fund
• Quick read: delivering the Government's Culture Recovery Fund (31 July 2020)
  

PS The comments on the Guardian Editorial are a good read as to divergent views! 

Is "Artist" a non-essential job?

A Chart has been circulating on Facebook suggesting that an "Artist" ranks #1 in the list of Top 5 Non-Essential Jobs.

Cue apoplexy amongst many artists on Facebook!  

Much hurt all round Facebook who now feel people do not appreciate artists!

screendump from Facebook

Some of the more popular comments on my FB Page

Some of the more popular comments on my FB Page when I posted another version of the chart - (which had chopped an essential word from the top text

Considering everything we've been amusing ourselves with that's been keeping us all sane over the last while, I'd say artists should definitely be on the essential list

Considering everything you touch, sit on use has been designed by someone who started out at art school

I’m not trying to be greedy but I have two cleaning jobs and I’m an artist!! I’m an underpaid essential and an underpaid non-essential!! LOL And shouldn’t that read “delivery person”!!

Artists not important...Ha...then just take away all entertainment, go back to using DOS on computers, Burn all museums...all museums, burn most libaries, tear down many historical buildings, and so on...oh and all clothes on style sack and all colours gray. No patterns. The problem with being an artist is that we are so ingrained into part of society we are actually invisible. We are on par with the air you breathe.

Seriously though, like many have already pointed out, what sort of grey world do people want to live in with no film, tv, music, graphics, museums, galleries, clothes, shoes, ....oh I could go on! Who the hell even designed that page of the newspaper? A graphic designer....an artist! I despair!

Let them be for a week without books, radio, streaming music & video, games, telly... They'll kill each other

HOWEVER This is a bit more complicated than that - as I shall explain.

Why you should not get apoplectic too quickly

Stop and read the text at the top of the graphic - as I did when I saw the same poll on another FB account with a long textual explanation - rather than a quick quip

The author - Yan Neng - was one of the people who responded to the poll. 
It generated 179 comments and 788 shares!!

Now for the PUNCHLINE!

1. This survey was of a group of 1,000 (only) people in SINGAPORE and was intended only to relate to Singapore.
2. "The Sunday Times" in the headline is NOT THE Sunday Times (published in London) - rather it is the Sunday edition of The Straits Times - in SINGAPORE.
3. It can only ever have been intended to relate to the current Covid context of SINGAPORE.

This is the text that many people did not see

The Sunday Times asks 1,000 respondents which are the jobs which are most crucial in keeping Singapore going, and also how much people will pay for essential services so that workers in the sector may get a wage boost

The purpose of the poll was all about identifying those who people would be willing to pay more to RIGHT NOW - to make sure they got their essential service.  

By including the non-essential jobs, they muddied the water and the reception it got online - as artists became more and more incensed.....

In addition, the author of the FB post I saw provided an explanation of the survey 

I'm not gonna lie. I’ve friends who are artists who are hurt by this survey and I do feel guilty, but I don’t think my answers will change.
We weren’t told the purpose of the survey is a frivolous article; it came off like it was a government survey trying to suss out if they should implement some sort of minimum wage. And come on, when you place people who handles the garbage disposal next to an artist, how could I rank both as equally essential? The former, I need everyday; the latter, I love art and can enjoy the art they’ve already made everyday.
In my mind, there were also a distinction between a pure artist and a designer when I was doing the survey. I thought about performance artists who sat in an exhibit holding people’s hands, or people who painted on an easel. While their work can be amazing (I’ve been touched by such art), I don’t know how essential it is right now in today’s Cov19 context.
With regards to the minimum wage impression, I also didn’t feel inclined to pick workers who were already more appreciated in their day to day as “essential” (HR managers probably earn more than a cleaner).
Keep in mind, these professions were given to us as choices — it wasn’t as if the surveyees spontaneously suggested artists as inessential.
EDIT: after some discussions below, I just wanted to add I also think there's also a difference between "essential" and "valuable". I'm a writer and I'll gladly admit I'm not essential in today's context and climate. However, I do find my work *valuable*. Whether or not my work is essential has no bearing on the value my work brings. The survey asked for "essential" and I did the survey keeping "essential" in mind. This term was defined in the survey: "we mean someone who is engaged in work deemed necessary to meet basic needs of human survival and well-being, such as food, health, safety and cleaning".

 Here are some of the comments he got.

if you are willing to brave the storm of angry people possibly coming at you, post it as a shareable status.
At the end of the day, this is just data. Data of public perception of artists and not the inherent worth of artists. It's feedback lor.
And this feedback means that we/Artists still have a lot of work to do to bridge public perception and sentiments.

There's a difference between essential and important.
For example. Sex is arguably not an essential part for a person's existence. But I don't think people are going to deny it's importance.

I think there's nothing wrong with what you did. Artists are always going to be necassary and important but like many others, not essential. The point of the article was to focus on the underpaid but i feel by adding in the top 5 non essentials, it has really diluted the point of the article.

It's an interesting phenomenon and perspective. 

Artists may be valuable - but in the context of the Pandemic the population at large (in Singapore) did not regard them as "essential" to daily life.

Covid-19 #12: Meet the Commissioner for Cultural Recovery and Renewal post lockdown

Neil Mendoza has today been appointed as the new Commissioner for Cultural Recovery and Renewal by the Government's Culture Secretary.

In effect he is the man tasked with reviving the UK's cultural sector post lockdown.

Why should you be interested? You might be want to think how much planning is going to focus on the "traditional way of doing things" and "all the normal suspects" as opposed to who really needs to be represented at the table.

I suspect we're going to get a response 

• very much focused on large organisations and 
• NOT one focused in any way on people who are self-employed within the sector

Why do we need a Commissioner?

Our local, regional and national institutions have been trailblazers in coming up with innovative ways to reach audiences during the lockdown. Our focus now turns to paving the way for the reopening of the country’s cultural hubs including theatres, galleries, museums and entertainment venues, when it is safe to do so.Culture Secretary - Oliver Dowding

What is a Commissioner for Cultural Recovery and Renewal?

Apparently the Commissioner will:

• provide an expert and independent voice to the government
• advise on how UK culture and heritage can begin the road to recovery from the pandemic

Culture and creativity will be vital to rebuilding communities across the country and in sustaining our international standing as a creative nation. Helping the sector to reopen is a priority for the Arts Council and I very much look forward to working with Neil in support of the aims of the Taskforce.Sir Nicholas Serota

Who is Neil Mendoza?

Neil Mendoza

Wikipedia describes Neil Mendoza as

a British entrepreneur, publisher and philanthropist.

Neil Mendoza has had a career building businesses in the creative and finance sectors.
He is currently:

• the Provost of Oriel College, Oxford
• a Non-Executive Director at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (since 2016)
• the Chair of The Landmark Trust - a UK charity dedicated to saving buildings of historical importance
• the Illuminated River Foundation - a large art commission project to light London’s bridges
• a Director of Bookmark Content  (worth checking out if you want to know more about digital marketing of content)

Previous roles included

• Founder of Forward Publishing (which became Bookmark)
• Commissioner of Historic England, 
Chairman of The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts, and
• Vice Chair of Soho Theatre

He led the Mendoza Review of Museums in England (2017). (see The Mendoza Review: an independent review of museums in England PDF, 2.08MB, 110 pages). It looked at

• what the national infrastructure for museums is and what it could and should be; 
• the museums sponsored directly by government; and 
• the challenges and opportunities for all of England’s museums. 
• It made recommendations across the following areas:
• Adapting to today’s funding environment
• Growing and diversifying audiences
• Dynamic collection curation and management
• Contributing to placemaking and local priorities
• Delivering cultural education
• Working in museums: Developing leaders with appropriate skills & Diversifying the workforce
• Digital capacity and innovation
• Working international

I haven't looked at this in any detail but I do know from a career spent working for and with government that it's very unlikely for people to change their mind on what they think is important if they published a report in the last five years!

This is his Twitter account - should you feel the need to tell him what his new priorities need to be

What happens next?

The government press release announces that planning for how various economic sectors which are currently closed can be reopened safely

There are five sectors and task forces in the roadmap to rebuild Britain.

 These are:

• Recreation and leisure, 
• Pubs and restaurants, 
• Non-essential retail, 
• Places of worship, and 
• International aviation

The first of those taskforces - Recreation and Leisure - is being established by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. This will be supported by working groups which include:

• the entertainment and events group
• sport, 
• museums and galleries, 
• heritage, 
• tourism and 
• libraries.

I can't see any recognition of the impact of coronavirus on the self-employed - such as freelance professional artists and illustrators.
The Entertainment and Events Working Group will

bringing together representatives from around the country to develop advice and guidance on the reopening of cultural venues across the nation, helping to get employees back to work and audiences once again enjoying our thriving cultural sector.

It will include representatives from:

• Royal Albert Hall, 
• Birmingham Royal Ballet, 
• Really Useful Group, 
• One Dance UK, 
• Cadogan Hall, 
• Association of British Orchestras, 
• Nimax, 
• Leeds Playhouse and 
• The Royal Opera House.

What I'd like to see an analysis of how those employed in the arts are split across the different sectors and the extent to which they are 

• either employed by large organisations - the likes of which get a voice in these working groups
• those who are self-employed - who are very often ignored by the government (witness the arrangements for how to support people's income when it took a lot of banging on tables to make the point that there are LOTS AND LOTS OF SELF-EMPLOYED PEOPLE!

Coronavirus #5: Culture in Quarantine - what the BBC did next!

We are apparently going to have Culture in Quarantine on the BBC!

This is according to a BBC Arts Blog Post published yesterday by Jonty Claypole who is the Director, BBC Arts. (Click the link above to read in full)

One (cynical) bit of me thinks "This is the BBC trying to curry favour with Boris and avoid a major change to how they operate"!

On the other hand this might be a good idea.

Let's see what they have to say......

For me, a precious ray of sunshine has emerged in the clear determination of artists, performers, curators and producers to keep creating and connecting with audiences whatever the circumstances. It is Wednesday afternoon. Our world turned on its axis only 48 hours ago. Yet already exciting plans are emerging that promise a means of keeping culture alive even if our ability to enter the spaces that normally supports them is increasingly limited. Theatres are developing ways to keep producing and sharing work from behind closed doors, book festivals are working out how to stream talks and ideas most effectively, museums and galleries are already announcing virtual exhibitions based on those which are no longer open to the public.

and

Historically, artists thrive on periods of isolation and it seems certain that the current period will result in new plays, poems, books, films, paintings, sculptures and all other forms of art that might not otherwise occur.

This comes within the context of the BBC's announcement of its broader purpose during the coronavirus crisis.

We will help people in the UK deal with the impact of the crisis on their own lives, by providing advice, education and support.

This includes various new initiatives including

At a time when British culture is having to close its doors, the BBC, through iPlayer and Sounds, can give British culture an audience that can’t be there in person. We propose to run an essential arts and culture service - Culture in Quarantine - that will keep the Arts alive in people’s homes, focused most intensely across Radio 3, Radio 4, BBC Two, BBC Four, Sounds, iPlayer and our digital platforms, working closely with organisations like Arts Council England and other national funding and producing bodies. This will include guides to shuttered exhibitions, performances from world-class musicians and comedy clubs, new plays created especially for broadcast featuring exceptional talent, poetry and book readings.

So what does this involve?  

Dissecting the blog post I can summarise as follows

• a virtual festival of the arts - Culture in Quarantine - rooted in the experience of both voluntary and involuntary isolation. 
• linked to the wider arts and cultural sector - e.g. in close consultation and collaboration with organisations like Arts Council England and other national funding and producing bodies.

Some things we will be able to do directly, others we will support in different ways or simply just put a spotlight on.

• EXAMPLES: 
• Digital art in a time of virus by Alice Strong, Senior Curator of the National Galleries of Scotland. 
• 230,000+ artworks | ART.UK - Discover amazing pieces and learn about artists at the online home for the UK's public art collection

• the BBC will open up its platforms, services and technology to help arts and cultural organisations continue to reach audiences directly during this difficult period.
• a focus on maintaining mental health

It has been proved time and again how beneficial arts and culture is to mental health and so we are also keen to continue to help people at home develop their own creative practice. The participatory arts and crafts campaign Get Creative is shifting its focus from events to the domestic arena. We want to provide everyone with activities to do either alone or with immediate family. BBC Four’s Life Drawing Live will return, by hook or by crook, to inspire and encourage everyone to take part.

Looks like we might be getting regular BBC4 Life Drawing Live!!

It can't start soon enough!

Rembrandt - a case study in light and dark

Google Art and Culture is currently displaying a very interesting case study in the portrayal of light and dark in a painting by Rembrandt.

A Case Study of Light and Dark is a slideshow which highlights - in detail and close up - how Rembrandt conveys both light and dark

• in different places within a portrait 
• relative to the light source and 
• relative to the form and local colour of the subject.

Do take a look - I know some with find it VERY educational. For others it's an excellent refresher of what we already know but maybe sometimes forget!

The painting is a Bust of an old man with turban (1627 - 1628) by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn from The Kremer Collection

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PS You may have noticed I'm posting shorter posts borrowing from other sites. That's because it's Christmas and I have other "things to do"! :)  Future posts will be similar and/or will display paintings of the season or Christmas.