BEYOND THE PALE AND BACK AGAIN: CONTEMPORARY BRITISH ART AND THE CASE OF MARK WALLINGER By BRANTLEY BALDWIN JOHNSON A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2010 1 © 2010 Brantley Baldwin Johnson 2 To the most important professors who helped me see this project through: Tom Johnson and Mary Baldwin 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank first and foremost my faculty committee members: Dr. Alexander Alberro, Dr. Florence Babb, Dr. Elizabeth Ross, Dr. Eric Segal, and Dr. Shepherd Steiner. My Floridian friends, students, and mentors have enhanced my confidence and reassured my unease during many stressful occasions. Several colleagues in London were critical in the research and planning stages: most notably Anthony Spira at the Whitechapel Gallery and Milton Keynes Gallery. The staff at the Anthony Reynolds Gallery (Maria Stathi in particular) allowed me unlimited access to rare video works and press materials. This dissertation was enriched as well by the generosity and candidness of Mark Wallinger himself. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................7 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................10 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................11 Introduction.............................................................................................................................11 Organization of Dissertation...................................................................................................21 Artist’s Biography and Career History...................................................................................25 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................28 2 ICONS AND FLAGS.............................................................................................................40 Oxymoron (1996) ...................................................................................................................41 Tattoo (1987) ..........................................................................................................................46 Sleeper (2004).........................................................................................................................49 Time and Relative Dimensions in Space (2001) ....................................................................59 Endnote: National Anthems....................................................................................................63 3 HORSES AND ROYALTY ...................................................................................................66 Race, Class, Sex (1992)..........................................................................................................69 A Real Work of Art (1994).....................................................................................................73 Royal Ascot (1994).................................................................................................................76 Ghost (2000) ...........................................................................................................................80 Endnote: Turf and Tories........................................................................................................84 4 RELIGION AND CROSSINGS.............................................................................................85 Ecce Homo (1999)..................................................................................................................86 Angel (1997)...........................................................................................................................95 Threshold to the Kingdom (2000) ........................................................................................103 The Underworld (2004) ........................................................................................................107 Endnote: Blind Faith.............................................................................................................110 5 POLITICS AND ZONES .....................................................................................................113 State Britain (2007)...............................................................................................................114 Zone (2007) ..........................................................................................................................130 Façade (2001) .......................................................................................................................137 5 The Russian Linesman (2009)..............................................................................................141 Endnote: Awake in the Nightmare of History ......................................................................148 6 CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................149 Pomp and Circumstance .......................................................................................................149 Risking Enchantment............................................................................................................151 A Portrait of the Literary Artist ............................................................................................152 Beyond the Pale and Back Again .........................................................................................153 APPENDIX A INTERVIEWS......................................................................................................................156 B ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ........................................................................................168 Mark Wallinger: Selected Solo Exhibitions .........................................................................168 Mark Wallinger: Selected Group Exhibitions ......................................................................169 Mark Wallinger: Educational History ..................................................................................171 Mark Wallinger: Awards and Commissions.........................................................................171 LIST OF REFERENCES.............................................................................................................172 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................180 6 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Mark Wallinger, Oxymoron , 1996, polyester textile flag, 229 x 458 cm. (in Mark Wallinger , edited by Madeleine Schuppli and Janneke de Vries, Switzerland: JRP/Ringier, 2008, page 35) 2. Mark Wallinger, Tattoo , 1987, paint on PVC ground sheet, three parts, each 274 x 213 cm. (in Mark Wallinger , edited by Madeleine Schuppli and Janneke de Vries, Switzerland: JRP/Ringier, 2008, page 41) 3. Mark Wallinger, Sleeper , 2004, silent video projection, duration 2 hours 31 minutes, dimensions variable. (in Mark Wallinger , edited by Madeleine Schuppli and Janneke de Vries, Switzerland: JRP/Ringier, 2008, page 134-139) 4. Mark Wallinger, Time and Relative Dimensions in Space , 2001, stainless steel, MDF, electric light, 281.5 x 135 x 135 cm. (in Mark Wallinger , edited by Madeleine Schuppli and Janneke de Vries, Switzerland: JRP/Ringier, 2008, page 25) 5. Robert Morris, Untitled ( Mirrored Cubes), 1965. Accessed April 19, 2009. <http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=10317&searc hid=10101&tabview=image> 6. Mark Wallinger, A Model History , 1987, bricks, 34 x 191 cm diameter. (in Mark Wallinger: Credo , London: Tate Gallery, 2000, page 47) 7. Carl Andre, Equivalent VIII , 1967. Accessed April 19, 2009 <http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=508&searchi d=9474&tabview=image> 8. Mark Wallinger, US , 2006, polyester textile flag, 229 x 458 cm. Accessed May 2, 2009. <http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/reviews/robinson/robinson12-8- 06_detail.asp?picnum=6> 9. Mark Wallinger, Race, Class, Sex , 1992, oil on canvas, four parts, each 230 x 300 cm. (in Norman Rosenthal, et al. Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection . London: Royal Academy of Arts; New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997, page 178-179) 10. George Stubbs, Whistlejacket , 1762. Accessed July 23, 2009. <http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/george-stubbs-whistlejacket> 11. Mark Wallinger, Half-Brother (Exit to Nowhere - Machiavellian), 1994-5, oil on canvas, 230 x 150 cm. (in Mark Wallinger: Credo , London: Tate Gallery, 2000, page 63) 12. Mark Wallinger, Half-Brother (Diesis - Keen), 1994-5, 230 x 300 cm. (in Mark Wallinger , edited by Madeleine Schuppli and Janneke de Vries, Switzerland: JRP/Ringier, 2008, page 48) 7 13. Mark Wallinger, Half-Brother (Jupiter Island - Precocious), 1994-5, 230 x 300 cm. (in Mark Wallinger: Credo , London: Tate Gallery, 2000, page 62) 14. Mark Wallinger, A Real Work of Art , 1994, live racehorse. (in Mark Wallinger: Credo , London: Tate Gallery, 2000, page 64) 15.