OXFORD MODERN ART MODERN STUART BRISLEY

STATE OF DENMARK EXHIBITION GUIDE EXHIBITION

EXHIBITION GUIDE

MODERN ART STRAIGHT TO CAMERA TO STRAIGHT OXFORD

PROGRAMME STUART BRISLEY STATE OF DENMARK production. of choices and practicalities the

Geta Bratescu CURATED BY DAVID THORP WITH THE MUSEUM OF ORDURE In STUDIO No.1 we see the performance of a process, artists’ the also but itself performance the

Upper Galleries The Studio, 1978, 16mm transferred to digital film number of Foley sounds (sound effects for radio and witnessing only not is audience the vision, Atay’s

20 September - 16 November 17 – 24 October film), enacted within a purpose built sound stage of possession self the latterly more or productions in his native Czech Republic. This studio however Beckmann’s of theatricality the Tests, Screen

Geta Bratescu was an important figure in history This exhibition presents a selected survey of where Brisley worked gathering information on the was never used as intended, due to the invention Warhol’s of intimacy the In work. live a within

of Romanian conceptualism. Although largely historical and recent work by seminal British history and customs of the area in an attempt to of recording tape, and the space and it’s props audience the to denied often Something making.

marginalized by the regime in her homeland in the artist Stuart Brisley (b. Surrey, 1933). Celebrated create an active social tool which would develop remained empty – a forgotten site for performance performance- of process the also but film the of

mid 20th Century, following the political thaw in the as a performance artist, the great breadth and the town’s sense of community, rather than simply reactivated only for Štětina’s camera. However manipulation the both exposes films these Watching 1970s Bratescu worked as an illustrator and graphic diversity of Brisley’s practice will be explored in here the process is inverted and we see only the produce a mere archive. This presentation is

designer alongside her artistic practice. At the end State of Denmark through a range of sculpture, complemented by a study room where key texts actions, there is no sound except that which we are reference. of points fixed no were there which

of the ’70s, she rented a studio that served both as photography, film and painting. and resources which relate to the history and asked to imagine as doors are slammed and feet in paradigm led process exciting an produce to film

a place of work, but also increasingly functioned as culture of mining in the UK is available for you to walk up stones stairs. of reproducibility controlled the with merged event

the subject of her artistic practice, becoming a stage Throughout his career, now spanning six decades, explore.

for temporary installations as well as a production Brisley has consistently interrogated the political live the of dynamism ephemeral the how describes

Fikret Atay Hoberman time. the of atmosphere the of sense venue for her films. conventions of the time. From his early projects Stuart Brisley’s engagement with the act of painting

and gives a strong strong a gives and

Tinica, 2004, digital film in ‘60s post-war Germany and his recurring is explored in a passage of works in the Piper Sake Own it’s for Performance

Like Canyons and Rivers: Rivers: and Canyons Like The Studio is an action documented on film in 10 – 16 November engagement with the politics of Northern Ireland Gallery. Titled Royal Ordure (1996), the painting essay, his in Hoberman

which the artist used her own body to investigate Fikret Atay’s films capture moments of private, to his more recent critique of the British monarchy evokes an ongoing and increasingly central J critic film the by life to brought vividly is 1960s,

her studio’s spatial proportions. By contrast to her sometimes intimate, performance. In Tinica, a and systems of power, Brisley’s profound and concern in Brisley’s practice; the tussle with a late the during beyond and Europe to migrated

Conceptual contemporaries, such as Bruce Nauman young man stands on a hill overlooking Batman, singular voice resonates with a younger generation social and cultural detritus; real, metaphorical and quickly which York, New in genre this of genesis The

and Paul McCarthy, Bratescu does not view the of artists working today. imagined. Similarly, The Missing Text, Interregnum Turkey. He prepares with utmost care a makeshift performance.

relationship between the studio and the body as 1-3 (2012-13) depicts a jumble of debris, remnants drum set from used cans, plastic bottles, and and film of marriage this by suggested freedoms

independent from life’s daily problems: she aims In a time marked by widespread dissatisfaction with of failed businesses which Brisley discovered in container covers. He gives a bravura performance the exploit to began filmmaking and music theatre,

constantly to dissipate the boundaries between the our political institutions, from the protests against an abandoned shop during his 2010 residency at to an indifferent and distant city-scape - there is dance, art, visual including disciplines of range a

spaces of art and of everyday life. inequality mounted by the ‘Occupy’ movement PEER, London and which reminded the artist of the no audience and no response. Only the camera is from Artists necessity. a longer no are audiences

to the proposed dismantling of the Unions, this Conservative Party’s slogan for the 2010 general there to record his activity. live - recorded and restaged repeated, be now Ericka Beckman exhibition highlights the urgency of the critique election, ‘Broken Britain’.

We Imitate; We Break Up, 1978, Super 8 transferred Finally he kicks the drum set down the hill, the which Brisley has relentlessly pursued throughout could performances and happenings works, Whole

to digital film cans and bottles roll down the slope towards the his work. The enduring relationship with the body as art. performance for possibilities the explore to

25 October – 1 November town and finally come to rest among the rubbish subject will be traced through an accompanying which within parameters of set new a with artists State of Denmark will include early and rarely seen presented cameras handheld small of invention

at the bottom as the performance, and even the film programme, in which some of Brisley’s Based in New York, Ericka Beckman has been making works which reappraise historical moments that The moment. ephemeral an of record static a as

instruments that made it, dissolve back into the city. most prescient performances can be seen in the

films since the 1970s, combining choreographed chime with the contemporary political climate. Basement. photography stills through primarily documented tableaux, set designs and manipulated camera was art performance 1960s late the to Prior Marcus Coates

work, her films anticipate the work of a generation In the Upper Gallery Before the Mast (2013), is a State of Denmark is curated by David Thorp in Out of Season, 2000, Digital film film. and performance of history the in

of younger artists. Beckman’s creative methodology series of photograph’s from a ten-day performance association with the Museum of Ordure. The

17 – 23 November link important an describe to attempt an rather but

initially saw her transforming her studio into a sound exploring the decimal introduced after exhibition assert’s Brisley’s influence as one of the

is not a comprehensive history history comprehensive a not is the French Revolution. This attempt to eradicate all Camera to Straight

stage on which to produce her performances, with Marcus Coates is best know for his shamanistic most important and enduring voices in international religious and royalist influences from day-to-day life future. digital a in suggests it possibilities the of

the aide of some trusted assistants, she describes performances and films in which he adopts the contemporary art. The exhibitiob is accompanied reveals Brisley’s fascination with the Revolutionary sense a give and form this identify clearly more to

her practice as producing films which costumes and tropes of First Nation peoples to by a new pamphlet featuring a text by David Thorp.

moment which has played itself out consistently aims It performance. live of nature the and theatre

consider the tribes, rituals and superstitions of

programme maps the relationship between film, film, between relationship the maps programme

throughout his career. This interest is also revealed Stuart Brisley’s destabilisation of received narratives rituals. personal performed or TV reality

‘challenge traditional aesthetic, and cultural values, contemporary society. In Out of Season we see a

practice of making performance for the camera. The The camera. the for performance making of practice

in State of Denmark (2014), a new installation resonates with the challenging tone of the work in comedy, of nature the examine to techniques same

that mix games with fairytales to create hybrids man wondering the woods alone chanting football

changing exhibition of artists’ films examining the the examining films artists’ of exhibition changing

created especially for Modern Art Oxford. Here, an PLATFORM in the Project Space. While Brisley and the applying today, working artists of practice the

with new rules.’ songs to the sky. Removed from the stadium and

is a a is Camera to Straight Century. 20th mid the since

iron crown is hung over a collection of clothing. this group of emerging artists hail from different in resonate to continues performance and film of

the context of the opposition fans, Coates’ film

For Beckman play is central to her message, artists to seductive consistently proved has audience

Beside this stands a wooden structure; one side generations, both exhibitions present alternative intertwining early the However production. its to

strips away the accepted social perceptions of his creating constructs and scenarios playouted before expectant an of gaze the from away studio the in

comprised of removable panels and demarcated positions on the society in which we live today. devoted biennales and exhibitions numerous with

behavior and in doing so reveals the power and the camera, yet mirroring the games around which performance filming and making of practice The as republican, the other given over to monarchy. mainstream, art’s of part established an be to grown

we build our daily lives. absurdity of performing alone. Stuart Brisley’s films are shown daily from 11am - A royal portrait of a child prince is placed inside, and evolved has art performance beginnings those

5pm downstairs in the Basement. longer in the room. the in longer apparently trapped by the system in which it exists. from But seen. be longer no can and destroyed or

Mel Brimfield

Roman Št tina no is but watching is audience the when happen ě This work highlights a vulnerability of seemingly lost often now are street the of anonymity the in

Quantum Foam performed by David Cann, 2014, Please feel free to use photography and social

STUDIO No.1 (Demonstration), 2013, Digital film can what deconstruct to attempt an in experienced, permanent institutions by opposing the political or camera a of lens the to solely performing come,

Digital film media in all of the galleries

2 – 9 November and shown recorded, is it how and performance of systems of republic and monarchy. Visitors are might who of regardless midnight at studio the

24-30 November @mao_gallery | Instagram: modernartoxford This programme asks questions about the nature nature the about questions asks programme This invited to contribute to this debate by writing on in events staging activities; led process early The Roman Št tina’s work focuses largely on the history ě the structure’s panels. #republic | #monarchy

of radio - its people, architecture and evolving Mel Brimfield’s complex practice is concerned with

technology. Štétina’s elegant films create narratives, the historiography of both performance art and 2015 December 14 – October 17

Featured in the Middle Galleries is documentation Space Project telling stories which function as historical asides to popular culture – TV sitcoms, comedy and cabaret. of Brisley’s pioneering Peterlee Project 1976-1977, FILM FOR PERFORMANCE the mainstream of history. Skillfully weaving a playful narrative between the

also published as a book on the occasion of this history of performance art and the most significant CAMERA: TO STRAIGHT exhibition. Peterlee is a mining town in Durham

been taken up again. Modern revolutionaries have have revolutionaries Modern again. up taken been PROGRAMME STUART BRISLEY

establishment of the Paris Commune. It has never never has It Commune. Paris the of establishment STATE OF DENMARK

France’s Second Empire led to the temporary temporary the to led Empire Second France’s Geta Bratescu In STUDIO No.1 we see the performance of a CURATED BY DAVID THORP WITH THE MUSEUM OF ORDURE

was revived briefly in 1871 when the collapse of of collapse the when 1871 in briefly revived was The Studio, 1978, 16mm transferred to digital film number of Foley sounds (sound effects for radio and Upper Galleries

nobody was using the Revolutionary calendar. It It calendar. Revolutionary the using was nobody 17 – 24 October film), enacted within a purpose built sound stage 20 September - 16 November

1805. By then, as is clear from correspondence, correspondence, from clear is as then, By 1805. in his native Czech Republic. This studio however

Geta Bratescu was an important figure in history eventually reverted to their traditional names in in names traditional their to reverted eventually This exhibition presents a selected survey of

was never used as intended, due to the invention where Brisley worked gathering information on the

of Romanian conceptualism. Although largely 1795 and the decimal in 1802. The months months The 1802. in week decimal the and 1795 historical and recent work by seminal British

of recording tape, and the space and it’s props history and customs of the area in an attempt to

marginalized by the regime in her homeland in the the inevitable. The decimal day was abolished in in abolished was day decimal The inevitable. the artist Stuart Brisley (b. Surrey, 1933). Celebrated

remained empty – a forgotten site for performance create an active social tool which would develop

mid 20th Century, following the political thaw in the religious superstition, they gradually bowed to to bowed gradually they superstition, religious as a performance artist, the great breadth and the town’s sense of community, rather than simply

reactivated only for Štětina’s camera. However

1970s Bratescu worked as an illustrator and graphic calendar as a key plank in their campaign to destroy destroy to campaign their in plank key a as calendar diversity of Brisley’s practice will be explored in

here the process is inverted and we see only the produce a mere archive. This presentation is

designer alongside her artistic practice. At the end on the Sabbath. Although the republicans saw the the saw republicans the Although Sabbath. the on State of Denmark through a range of sculpture,

actions, there is no sound except that which we are complemented by a study room where key texts

of the ’70s, she rented a studio that served both as seven, and they could not usually attend church church attend usually not could they and seven, photography, film and painting.

asked to imagine as doors are slammed and feet and resources which relate to the history and

a place of work, but also increasingly functioned as got only one day off in ten rather than one in in one than rather ten in off day one only got culture of mining in the UK is available for you to

walk up stones stairs.

the subject of her artistic practice, becoming a stage Throughout his career, now spanning six decades, by workers and France’s Catholic majority: people people majority: Catholic France’s and workers by explore.

Brisley has consistently interrogated the political The revolutionary week was particularly disliked disliked particularly was week revolutionary The for temporary installations as well as a production

Fikret Atay conventions of the time. From his early projects Stuart Brisley’s engagement with the act of painting which kept was an engineering feat. feat. engineering an was time decimal kept which venue for her films. Tinica, 2004, digital film in ‘60s post-war Germany and his recurring is explored in a passage of works in the Piper

calendar easy to use, and constructing a clock clock a constructing and use, to easy calendar The Studio is an action documented on film in 10 – 16 November engagement with the politics of Northern Ireland Gallery. Titled Royal Ordure (1996), the painting

No-one, even dedicated republicans, found the the found republicans, dedicated even No-one, which the artist used her own body to investigate Fikret Atay’s films capture moments of private, to his more recent critique of the British monarchy evokes an ongoing and increasingly central

her studio’s spatial proportions. By contrast to her and systems of power, Brisley’s profound and concern in Brisley’s practice; the tussle with a monarchy. sometimes intimate, performance. In Tinica, a

Conceptual contemporaries, such as Bruce Nauman singular voice resonates with a younger generation social and cultural detritus; real, metaphorical and had provided the troops that had swept away the the away swept had that troops the provided had young man stands on a hill overlooking Batman,

and Paul McCarthy, Bratescu does not view the of artists working today. imagined. Similarly, The Missing Text, Interregnum the Sans-culottides, after the people of Paris who who Paris of people the after Sans-culottides, the Turkey. He prepares with utmost care a makeshift

relationship between the studio and the body as 1-3 (2012-13) depicts a jumble of debris, remnants added at the end of the year. These were known as as known were These year. the of end the at added drum set from used cans, plastic bottles, and

independent from life’s daily problems: she aims In a time marked by widespread dissatisfaction with of failed businesses which Brisley discovered in Revolutionary calendar, five extra days had to be be to had days extra five calendar, Revolutionary container covers. He gives a bravura performance

constantly to dissipate the boundaries between the our political institutions, from the protests against an abandoned shop during his 2010 residency at snow (Nivôse). As there were only 360 days in the the in days 360 only were there As (Nivôse). snow to an indifferent and distant city-scape - there is

spaces of art and of everyday life. inequality mounted by the ‘Occupy’ movement PEER, London and which reminded the artist of the the dog (Chien) and the fifth day of the month of of month the of day fifth the and (Chien) dog the no audience and no response. Only the camera is

to the proposed dismantling of the Unions, this Conservative Party’s slogan for the 2010 general and minerals. Thus, Christmas Day was the day of of day the was Day Christmas Thus, minerals. and there to record his activity. Ericka Beckman exhibition highlights the urgency of the critique election, ‘Broken Britain’.

own individual name drawn from animals, plants plants animals, from drawn name individual own We Imitate; We Break Up, 1978, Super 8 transferred Finally he kicks the drum set down the hill, the which Brisley has relentlessly pursued throughout

numbered one to ten. Each day was also given its its given also was day Each ten. to one numbered to digital film cans and bottles roll down the slope towards the his work. The enduring relationship with the body as

week was called a décade; and the days were were days the and décade; a called was week 25 October – 1 November town and finally come to rest among the rubbish subject will be traced through an accompanying appropriate climatic or agricultural names; the the names; agricultural or climatic appropriate State of Denmark will include early and rarely seen

at the bottom as the performance, and even the film programme, in which some of Brisley’s with the old calendar. The months were given given were months The calendar. old the with Based in New York, Ericka Beckman has been making works which reappraise historical moments that

instruments that made it, dissolve back into the city. most prescient performances can be seen in the

care was taken to ensure there was no connection connection no was there ensure to taken was care films since the 1970s, combining choreographed chime with the contemporary political climate. Basement. 100 minutes, and each minute 100 seconds. Every Every seconds. 100 minute each and minutes, 100 tableaux, set designs and manipulated camera

Marcus Coates

of ten days, each day ten hours, each hour hour each hours, ten day each days, ten of weeks work, her films anticipate the work of a generation In the Upper Gallery Before the Mast (2013), is a State of Denmark is curated by David Thorp in

months of thirty days. Each month contained three three contained month Each days. thirty of months Out of Season, 2000, Digital film

of younger artists. Beckman’s creative methodology series of photograph’s from a ten-day performance association with the Museum of Ordure. The

to our own. The year was divided into twelve twelve into divided was year The own. our to 17 – 23 November

initially saw her transforming her studio into a sound exploring the decimal calendar introduced after exhibition assert’s Brisley’s influence as one of the The Revolutionary calendar bore no resemblance resemblance no bore calendar Revolutionary The the French Revolution. This attempt to eradicate all stage on which to produce her performances, with Marcus Coates is best know for his shamanistic most important and enduring voices in international

religious and royalist influences from day-to-day life

the aide of some trusted assistants, she describes performances and films in which he adopts the contemporary art. The exhibitiob is accompanied

abolition of the monarchy. the of abolition reveals Brisley’s fascination with the Revolutionary

her practice as producing films which costumes and tropes of First Nation peoples to by a new pamphlet featuring a text by David Thorp. I began on 22 September 1792, the day after the the after day the 1792, September 22 on began I moment which has played itself out consistently

consider the tribes, rituals and superstitions of

decimal system. France no longer had a past. Year Year past. a had longer no France system. decimal throughout his career. This interest is also revealed Stuart Brisley’s destabilisation of received narratives

‘challenge traditional aesthetic, and cultural values, contemporary society. In Out of Season we see a further and created a new calendar built on the the on built calendar new a created and further in State of Denmark (2014), a new installation resonates with the challenging tone of the work in

that mix games with fairytales to create hybrids man wondering the woods alone chanting football

the number ten. The republicans went one stage stage one went republicans The ten. number the created especially for Modern Art Oxford. Here, an PLATFORM in the Project Space. While Brisley and

with new rules.’ songs to the sky. Removed from the stadium and

Magdalen College Magdalen

and system of weights and measures based upon upon based measures and weights of system and iron crown is hung over a collection of clothing. this group of emerging artists hail from different

the context of the opposition fans, Coates’ film

the University of Oxford, and Tutor in History, History, in Tutor and Oxford, of University the For Beckman play is central to her message,

passed through them and set up a new currency currency new a up set and them through passed Beside this stands a wooden structure; one side generations, both exhibitions present alternative

strips away the accepted social perceptions of his

Professor of Early-Modern French History, History, French Early-Modern of Professor creating constructs and scenarios playouted before

three departments named after the rivers that that rivers the after named departments three comprised of removable panels and demarcated positions on the society in which we live today.

behavior and in doing so reveals the power and

Laurence Brockliss Laurence the camera, yet mirroring the games around which divided the old French provinces into eighty- into provinces French old the divided as republican, the other given over to monarchy.

we build our daily lives. absurdity of performing alone. Stuart Brisley’s films are shown daily from 11am - wanted to make a clean break with the past. They They past. the with break clean a make to wanted A royal portrait of a child prince is placed inside,

established to begin with. with. begin to established 5pm downstairs in the Basement. declared emperor. The revolutionaries of 1789 1789 of revolutionaries The emperor. declared apparently trapped by the system in which it exists.

Mel Brimfield

and Islamic were ever successfully successfully ever were calendars Islamic and Roman Št tina which survived until 1804 when Napoleon was was Napoleon when 1804 until survived which ě This work highlights a vulnerability of seemingly

Quantum Foam performed by David Cann, 2014, Please feel free to use photography and social

raises the interesting question of how the Christian Christian the how of question interesting the raises STUDIO No.1 (Demonstration), 2013, Digital film monarchy and established the First French Republic Republic French First the established and monarchy permanent institutions by opposing the political

Digital film media in all of the galleries

would engender is seen as a step too far. This This far. too step a as seen is engender would 2 – 9 November August 1792, radicals overthrew the constitutional constitutional the overthrew radicals 1792, August systems of republic and monarchy. Visitors are

24-30 November @mao_gallery | Instagram: modernartoxford calendar. Presumably, the alienation that this this that alienation the Presumably, calendar. by a constitutional monarchy. Three years later, in in later, years Three monarchy. constitutional a by invited to contribute to this debate by writing on

Roman Št tina’s work focuses largely on the history #republic | #monarchy but they have never been tempted to change the the change to tempted been never have they but ě

fall of the French absolute state and its replacement replacement its and state absolute French the of fall the structure’s panels.

of radio - its people, architecture and evolving Mel Brimfield’s complex practice is concerned with

frequently carried through root-and-branch reform reform root-and-branch through carried frequently In early summer 1789 a revolution in Paris led to the the to led Paris in revolution a 1789 summer early In technology. Štétina’s elegant films create narratives, the historiography of both performance art and

Featured in the Middle Galleries is documentation

telling stories which function as historical asides to popular culture – TV sitcoms, comedy and cabaret. CALENDAR of Brisley’s pioneering Peterlee Project 1976-1977, the mainstream of history. Skillfully weaving a playful narrative between the

history of performance art and the most significant also published as a book on the occasion of this THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY FRENCH THE exhibition. Peterlee is a mining town in Durham STUART BRISLEY FILM PROGRAMME QUIET REPUBLICANISM ‘Photography, film and sound have been part of and rear views of the head. A black circle begins Modern UK republicanism has been unfortunately my thinking around the question of film. I have to appear as another reality, intervening between little more than a vandalising impulse, taboo-shrunk seen these mediums in relation to performance what is outside of the mirror and its reflection. to mere naughtiness: unable to upset the landscape, which I understand to be a behavioural activity. rebels are reduced to stealing Papa’s stamp-album or Synthesis through film offers another perspective The Last Breath, 2006-10, 13:42 minutes carving their initials on the ancestral furniture. During of performance. I try to make new works utilising The film is a culmination of 4 performances all the 1964-66 Labour government its most radical

film and video shot during performances. The films titled The Last Breath. The subject is derived from Minister was reduced to a campaign to remove the

stand as independent works where the dynamo memories of two experiences of approaching Queen’s profile from some of our postage-stamps. porous. more ever becomes public and

of the action has moved from transience towards death. Untimely death lies beyond rational His efforts were neatly foiled. But of course real private between line the and blurred increasingly

considerations of an endless duration.’ consideration. Republicanism would have by contrast paradoxically is distinction this which in world a of product

little to do with the Monarchy as such. It can only are films these because precisely is This fiction.

Stuart Brisley 2014 Next Door (the missing subject), 2010-12, acquire sense and public dignity as a refutation of from reality decipher to difficult sometimes is it

30:00 minutes what the Crown means: that is, as a refusal of the Facebook, and Tube You documentaries, TV, reality Throughout his career performance has formed a This performance was commissioned by PEER, whole estate and a demand for the new constitutional from narrative and presentation of forms Adapting

mainstay of Stuart Brisley’s artistic practice. Many London, and comprised a set of actions which habitat which must one day replace it.

of these influential works have been closely aligned were simultaneously filmed and photographed accordingly. adjusted is behavior and watching

to context, placing a limitation on the possibility over a ten-day period close to the general election Though I have touched on the subject a number always is camera the which in world threatening

to experience them as a live event. Fortunately a in May 2010. This proximity in time was crucial to of times, there are still some important lessons in darkly yet glossy, brash, a celebrates Trecartin

considerable archive of documentary footage and the intent of the work. the later decline and fall of Republicanism worth matter. subject as consumption and communicating

film exist and for State of Denmark, Stuart Brisley considering. The old Chartist question had been: with obsessed society a of extension logical

has made a selection of films offering a unique Before The Mast, 2013-14, 27:30 minutes How can Old Corruption ever be overthrown without grotesque, a – culture popular contemporary of

over-view of his most important performance work. A performance and film by Stuart Brisley getting rid of its most blatant and odious symbol? magnifications sized super are films terrifying A 10 day performance corresponding to the month How can a new, democratic nation ever arise without sometimes and crazed epic, often Trecartin’s

destroying this bloated embodiment of the old one – of ‘Frimaire’ in the French Republican Calendar. December 14 – 9

the ‘hoary, false nation’ of the Norman Yoke, Lordship, , HD video HD , 2009 Being and Doing, 1984, 55:00 minutes The Calendar established a new chronology and ish), (section Sky P.opular

was an effort to sweep away history and centuries the Rotten Boroughs, and Property? A film by Stuart Brisley and Ken McMullen Trecartin Ryan old religiously centred organisation of time. The A collaborative search towards the origins of Around 1870, Republicanism was abandoned to

seven day week was replaced by a new ten day performance connecting it not to Modernism but to sectarian movements increasingly self-defined by lens. the of eye

decimal week, a sign of equality.

preindustrial cultures. These rituals offer a drama their isolation from popular feeling and the political unflinching the before disintegrate slowly persona

where the division of performer and audience has mainstream. There have been one or two stirrings Dali’s Salvador performer arch see we Here time.

not been institutionalised, testifying to powerful in the intervening century, but none capable of over or instant an in either it, deconstruct to also but

lineages. reconstituting anti-monarchism as a plausible façade a create both to camera the for potential the

10 Days, 1978, 51:23 minutes presence. well so understand to was genius Warhol’s of Part

The performance was first made in Berlin which One side-effect of this national-popular Monarchism over. was process the when decide to subject the

took place between 21-31 December 1973 and was that Republicanism acquired an automatic leaving away wander would Warhol and given was

remade during the same period five years later at connotation of being ‘middle-class’ or ‘intellectual’ in direction further no Often camera. the before sit to

Acme Gallery London in 1978 with camerawork some deranged and suspect sense. As such it soon asked be would studio the to visitors – York New

by Ken McMullen. Brisley offered his food to his merited contempt from socialists as well as from in studio legendary Warhol’s – notoriety Factory’s

audience and lived without any source of food for proletarian Tories. Grinding in unison, the two mill- the of height the at Made subjects. their of many

a ten day period. stones of Nation and ‘class’ did have the permanent of status stellar the of because least not icons,

series have become become have series Tests Screen Incidents in Transit, 1992-2014, 42:00 minutes effect of preventing even a fraction; of the nation from Warhol’s Andy

holding to Republicanism. Working from below, ‘class’ This performance took place in Barcelona in 1992. December -7 2

consciousness now found itself with two alternative 1964-66, 16mm film 16mm 1964-66, The performance takes its title from an earlier visit #23, Tests Screen

(in reality complementary) judgements to deliver by Brisley to Barcelona in March 1974 when the last Warhol Andy two executions of the Franco regime took place on the subject: ‘trivial’ when set against the mighty

engine of an All-British, Working-class Socialism, while he was there. The Catalan activist, Salvador aspire. grimly they which to history the

the Monarchy was ‘everything decent about us’ (as Puig Antich and a common criminal Heinz Chez rewriting narratives and texts her deliver to conduits

well as a load of fun) to those less enamoured of the were executed by the use of the garote. as stereotypes artist and archetypes theatrical mighty engine, and even to Socialists on their off-duty

Sweating the Hole, 1997-2009, 24:50 days. But Left and Right could now both agree whole- up washed utilizing often films, her particular

As with many works, performance derives from heartedly that anyone bothering about the Crown as in work, the through runs humor tragicomic A

daily life, in this case, a plague of mice. such was only a nut. culture. of cows sacred

entertainment to question our reverence for the the for reverence our question to entertainment

Black Red and White, 1997-2009, 10:38 minutes Extract from The Enchanted Glass: Britain and Its popular of tropes and forms the reference and use Black Red and White takes place in a small room Monarchy films Brimfield’s history. recent of events cultural in which are displayed prints of opera singers. The Professor Tom Nairn images through the camera provide both front 1988

memories; and, in some cases, not even those. even not cases, some in and, memories; STUART BRISLEY FILM PROGRAMME QUIET REPUBLICANISM

descriptions, art world legends, and spectator spectator and legends, world art descriptions,

recordings, random documents, impressionistic impressionistic documents, random recordings, ‘Photography, film and sound have been part of and rear views of the head. A black circle begins Modern UK republicanism has been unfortunately

artefacts but traces. The work exists as fragile fragile as exists work The traces. but artefacts my thinking around the question of film. I have to appear as another reality, intervening between little more than a vandalising impulse, taboo-shrunk …For the most part these artists have left not not left have artists these part most the …For seen these mediums in relation to performance what is outside of the mirror and its reflection. to mere naughtiness: unable to upset the landscape,

which I understand to be a behavioural activity. rebels are reduced to stealing Papa’s stamp-album or

in the late 1990s… late the in Synthesis through film offers another perspective The Last Breath, 2006-10, 13:42 minutes carving their initials on the ancestral furniture. During

shows the would dominate commercial television television commercial dominate would the shows of performance. I try to make new works utilising The film is a culmination of 4 performances all the 1964-66 Labour government its most radical

anticipated by fifteen years the logic of reality TV TV reality of logic the years fifteen by anticipated film and video shot during performances. The films titled The Last Breath. The subject is derived from Minister was reduced to a campaign to remove the

the music video…Mike’s House nevertheless nevertheless House video…Mike’s music the stand as independent works where the dynamo memories of two experiences of approaching Queen’s profile from some of our postage-stamps.

currency, even as video artists gravitated towards towards gravitated artists video as even currency, of the action has moved from transience towards death. Untimely death lies beyond rational His efforts were neatly foiled. But of course real

Whitney installation Mike’s House – was the new new the was – House Mike’s installation Whitney considerations of an endless duration.’ consideration. Republicanism would have by contrast paradoxically

who would make TV the subject of his March 1982 1982 March his of subject the TV make would who little to do with the Monarchy as such. It can only

Ralston Farina and introduced by Michael Smith – – Smith Michael by introduced and Farina Ralston Stuart Brisley 2014 Next Door (the missing subject), 2010-12, acquire sense and public dignity as a refutation of …Television infected performance, prophesied by by prophesied performance, infected …Television 30:00 minutes what the Crown means: that is, as a refusal of the

Throughout his career performance has formed a This performance was commissioned by PEER, whole estate and a demand for the new constitutional

with the loot… the with mainstay of Stuart Brisley’s artistic practice. Many London, and comprised a set of actions which habitat which must one day replace it.

then chase her all over the lot when she runs away away runs she when lot the over all her chase then of these influential works have been closely aligned were simultaneously filmed and photographed

that teach Ericka how to dance and play soccer, soccer, play and dance to how Ericka teach that to context, placing a limitation on the possibility over a ten-day period close to the general election Though I have touched on the subject a number

Up (1978) features a set of life sized marionette legs legs marionette sized life of set a features (1978) Up to experience them as a live event. Fortunately a in May 2010. This proximity in time was crucial to of times, there are still some important lessons in

guitar riffs. The more elaborate We Imitate; We Break Break We Imitate; We elaborate more The riffs. guitar considerable archive of documentary footage and the intent of the work. the later decline and fall of Republicanism worth

minimal score on ominous drum rolls or repetitive repetitive or rolls drum ominous on score minimal film exist and for State of Denmark, Stuart Brisley considering. The old Chartist question had been:

away as a pair of disembodied hands conduct a a conduct hands disembodied of pair a as away has made a selection of films offering a unique Before The Mast, 2013-14, 27:30 minutes How can Old Corruption ever be overthrown without

people disappear; furniture collapses, then scurries scurries then collapses, furniture disappear; people over-view of his most important performance work. A performance and film by Stuart Brisley getting rid of its most blatant and odious symbol?

Run and White Man Has Clean Hands (both 1977) 1977) (both Hands Clean Has Man White and Run A 10 day performance corresponding to the month How can a new, democratic nation ever arise without

competition, organisation and initiation. In Hit and and Hit In initiation. and organisation competition, of ‘Frimaire’ in the French Republican Calendar. destroying this bloated embodiment of the old one –

a script, Beckmann created enigmatic allegories for for allegories enigmatic created Beckmann script, a Being and Doing, 1984, 55:00 minutes The Calendar established a new chronology and the ‘hoary, false nation’ of the Norman Yoke, Lordship,

Using texts by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget as as Piaget Jean psychologist Swiss by texts Using A film by Stuart Brisley and Ken McMullen was an effort to sweep away history and centuries the Rotten Boroughs, and Property? been making to supplement his Spectacles… his supplement to making been old religiously centred organisation of time. The

A collaborative search towards the origins of Around 1870, Republicanism was abandoned to on a bill with movies that Stuart Sherman had had Sherman Stuart that movies with bill a on seven day week was replaced by a new ten day

performance connecting it not to Modernism but to sectarian movements increasingly self-defined by Spring of 1977 and, two years later, at the Kitchen Kitchen the at later, years two and, 1977 of Spring decimal week, a sign of equality. preindustrial cultures. These rituals offer a drama their isolation from popular feeling and the political

showed her Super 8 films at Artists Space in the the in Space Artists at films 8 Super her showed where the division of performer and audience has mainstream. There have been one or two stirrings

of object theatre and psychodrama. Beckmann Beckmann psychodrama. and theatre object of not been institutionalised, testifying to powerful in the intervening century, but none capable of

…Ericka Beckmann provided another amalgam amalgam another provided Beckmann …Ericka lineages. reconstituting anti-monarchism as a plausible more or less than Smith’s daily existence… daily Smith’s than less or more 10 Days, 1978, 51:23 minutes presence.

had the feeling that what was being enacted was no no was enacted being was what that feeling the had The performance was first made in Berlin which One side-effect of this national-popular Monarchism

who made their way to his theatre at midnight often often midnight at theatre his to way their made who took place between 21-31 December 1973 and was that Republicanism acquired an automatic

Voice’s Off-Off Broadway directory. Those spectators spectators Those directory. Broadway Off-Off Voice’s remade during the same period five years later at connotation of being ‘middle-class’ or ‘intellectual’ in

going loft performances were listed in the Village Village the in listed were performances loft going Acme Gallery London in 1978 with camerawork some deranged and suspect sense. As such it soon

appeared. By way of announcement, Smith’s on on Smith’s announcement, of way By appeared. by Ken McMullen. Brisley offered his food to his merited contempt from socialists as well as from

rickety wooden grandstand – for whatever audience audience whatever for – grandstand wooden rickety audience and lived without any source of food for proletarian Tories. Grinding in unison, the two mill-

a collection of old chairs and sofas – eventually a a eventually – sofas and chairs old of collection a a ten day period. stones of Nation and ‘class’ did have the permanent

has been removed. The remaining portion sheltered sheltered portion remaining The removed. been has effect of preventing even a fraction; of the nation from home and his theatre. Half of the loft’s middle ceiling ceiling middle loft’s the of Half theatre. his and home Incidents in Transit, 1992-2014, 42:00 minutes

holding to Republicanism. Working from below, ‘class’ …the Plaster Foundation served as both Smith’s Smith’s both as served Foundation Plaster …the This performance took place in Barcelona in 1992.

The performance takes its title from an earlier visit consciousness now found itself with two alternative

Atlantis, at 36 Greene Street… Greene 36 at Atlantis, by Brisley to Barcelona in March 1974 when the last (in reality complementary) judgements to deliver

studio-cum-theatre, the Plaster Foundation of of Foundation Plaster the studio-cum-theatre, two executions of the Franco regime took place on the subject: ‘trivial’ when set against the mighty

factory” filmmaker Jack Smith’s live-in-movie live-in-movie Smith’s Jack filmmaker factory” while he was there. The Catalan activist, Salvador engine of an All-British, Working-class Socialism,

February 2014. 2014. February

ruined features of what used to be a rag packing packing rag a be to used what of features ruined Puig Antich and a common criminal Heinz Chez the Monarchy was ‘everything decent about us’ (as

Museum of American Art, New York. 31 October 2013 – 2 2 – 2013 October 31 York. New Art, American of Museum

pieces were “scarcely distinguishable from the the from distinguishable “scarcely were pieces were executed by the use of the garote. well as a load of fun) to those less enamoured of the

and the New Psychodrama – Manhattan, 1970-1980, Whitney Whitney 1970-1980, Manhattan, – Psychodrama New the and

where, as Peter Schjeldahl wrote, the exhibited exhibited the wrote, Schjeldahl Peter as where, mighty engine, and even to Socialists on their off-duty

Rituals of a Rented Island: Object Theatre, Loft Performance, Performance, Loft Theatre, Object Island: Rented a of Rituals

exhibition-cum-work space at 112 Greene Street, Street, Greene 112 at space exhibition-cum-work Sweating the Hole, 1997-2009, 24:50 days. But Left and Right could now both agree whole- J Hoberman 2013, a exhibition catalogue essay for for essay catalogue exhibition a 2013, Hoberman J

Own Sake, Sake, Own heartedly that anyone bothering about the Crown as foreman staged his first performances; the the performances; first his staged foreman As with many works, performance derives from Like Canyons and Rivers: Performance for it’s it’s for Performance Rivers: and Canyons Like

Extracts from from Extracts such was only a nut. buildings: 80 Wooster Street, in which Richard Richard which in Street, Wooster 80 buildings: daily life, in this case, a plague of mice.

York. cheap. The work was incubated in particular particular in incubated was work The cheap.

J Hoberman is a film critic and writer based in New New in based writer and critic film a is Hoberman J Space in New York was abundant and relatively relatively and abundant was York New in Space Black Red and White, 1997-2009, 10:38 minutes Extract from The Enchanted Glass: Britain and Its

Black Red and White takes place in a small room Monarchy

PERFORMANCE FOR IT’S OWN SAKE OWN IT’S FOR PERFORMANCE in which are displayed prints of opera singers. The Professor Tom Nairn LIKE CANYONS AND RIVERS: RIVERS: AND CANYONS LIKE images through the camera provide both front 1988 1 5 7 11 3 4

6

Resource Room 2

8 9 10

Upper Gallery Middle Galleries Piper Gallery 1 Hille Fellowship 5 Peterlee Project 7 Royal Ordure 226 chairs Ink, paper and photographs, 46 Mixed media on canvas dimensions variable boards, each 45.6 x 55.6 cm, 152 x 122 cm 1970 / 2014 1976-1977 (courtesy Tate Archive) 1996

2 Before The Mast 6 It Can Be Done 8 Missing Text, Interregnum 1 (6 May – 12 May 2010) Ten archival print photographs by Photographic triptych Oil on linen Maya Balcioglu 77cm x 167cm 135 x 196 cm each photograph 38 x 38 cm (unframed) 1986 2012 2013 9 Missing Text, Interregnum 2 (6 May – 12 May 2010) State of Denmark Oil on linen 3 Iron, wood, clothing 135 x 196 cm dimensions variable 2012-13 2014 10 Missing Text, Interregnum 3 (6 May – 12 May 2010) Cutting Edge Primogeniture (Jerusalem) Oil on linen 4 Graphite on paper 135 x 196 cm 52 x 67 cm 2013 2014 11 Chair Wooden chair, papier mache, PVA, acrylic paint, hardwood parquet floor, tar dimensions variable 2 011