‘Art is over — unless we fight it’
In late October, I came across this quote on a poster (pictured below) in Central London. Which was ironic, as I was heading to the Marion Goodman Gallery to see Tavares Strachan’s show. This statement stayed with me as changes to the arts and museum sector continue eg redundancies, questions of future funding/investment opportunities etc. And I’m wondering, what this statement means to other people, particularly artists…
When I initially searched up Stuart Semple (the artist behind this poster) I was intrigued by the recurring themes his art focuses on such as; ‘anxiety, society, cultural history, technology, connection, community and freedom’ (Stuart Semple, 2016). Which I guess points to Semple’s ‘Artist Job Centre’ which opened in Central London between 22 October — 3 November 2020. In a direct response to Rishi Sunak’s (Chancellor of the exchequer) comments about ‘people in all walks of life should consider retraining, Semple shared a video in his ‘brand new business venture’ demonstrating ways in which artists can ‘find gainful employment in other sectors’.
Semple’s (as well as other people from the creative industries) reinforces the interplay between art and politics. Especially when the UK Government’s policies are being scrutinised as the implications of Covid-19 continue to affect our lives, movement and job (in)security.
To round up, I feel the word adapting links Semple and Sunak’s stance on how the art sector at large navigates the impact of Covid-19. Semple’s humorous take on literally enacting Sunak’s comments points to a) taking the initiative on one hand but also, b) the holes in the Govs retraining programme itself. The play on codifying artist practice also — in the form of an artistic licence — speaks on the legitimacy of creation without intervention from ‘any authorities’. (Stuart Semple, 2016). The landscape of the art world is indeed changing and I’m intrigued to see how artists, governments and funders etc respond to one another. But I feel art is not over in the slightest.
