BLK Art Group
Encyclopedia
The BLK Art Group was the name chosen in 1982 by a group of four influential conceptual art
ists, painters, sculptors and installation art
ists based in the United Kingdom
. Keith Piper
, Marlene Smith
, Eddie Chambers
and Donald Rodney
were initially based in the Midlands
.
The group were all from the British African-Caribbean community
and exhibited in a number of group exhibitions in both small and prestigious galleries throughout the country. Their work was noted for its boldly political stance, producing dynamic conceptual art
that offered a series of inventive critiques on the state of inter-communal, class and gender relations in the UK. They were themselves influenced by the a variety of artistic currents including ideas associated with the USA's Black Arts Movement
. Donald Rodney, who suffered from sickle cell anaemia (anemia), died aged 36 in 1998.
, Battersea Arts Centre and again the Africa Centre.
The group's critique of the institutional racism
of Britain's art world was part of the impetus that led to The Other Story, a seminal survey of African and Asian artists at London's Hayward Gallery
in 1989 as well as the founding of the Association of Black Photographers
and the establishment of Iniva
, the Institute of International Visual arts. Piper and Chambers themselves have both gone on to achieve veteran status as educators, writers and curators.
and Steve McQueen
both of whom went on to win the Turner Prize
, whilst maintaining a clear political element to their work.
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
ists, painters, sculptors and installation art
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
ists based in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Keith Piper
Keith Piper (artist)
Keith Piper is a British artist, curator, critic and academic. He was a founder member of the BLK Art Group, an association of black British art students, mostly based in the West Midlands region of the UK. His work explores multi-media elements such as tape/slide, sound and video within an...
, Marlene Smith
Marlene Smith
Marlene Smith was a Canadian figure skater who competed in both pairs and ladies singles. In pairs, she won the gold medal at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships with partner Donald Gilchrist in 1949 and 1950...
, Eddie Chambers
Eddie Chambers
Edward "Eddie" Chambers is an American heavyweight boxer fighting out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Professional career:Eddie started boxing professionally in 2000 at the age of 18...
and Donald Rodney
Donald Rodney
Donald Gladstone Rodney was a British artist. He was a leading figure in Britain's BLK Art Group of the 1980s and became recognised as "one of the most innovative and versatile artists of his generation." Rodney's work appropriated images from the mass media, art and popular culture to explore...
were initially based in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
.
The group were all from the British African-Caribbean community
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
and exhibited in a number of group exhibitions in both small and prestigious galleries throughout the country. Their work was noted for its boldly political stance, producing dynamic conceptual art
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
that offered a series of inventive critiques on the state of inter-communal, class and gender relations in the UK. They were themselves influenced by the a variety of artistic currents including ideas associated with the USA's Black Arts Movement
Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement or BAM is the artistic branch of the Black Power movement. It was started in Harlem by writer and activist Amiri Baraka...
. Donald Rodney, who suffered from sickle cell anaemia (anemia), died aged 36 in 1998.
Institutional Impact
In 1982–3 the BLK art group's exhibited at "The Pan-Afrikan Connection" which toured to Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham; King Street Gallery in Bristol; and the Africa Centre in London. In 1983-4 the touring exhibition "The BLK Art Group" was held at the Herbert Art Gallery in CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, Battersea Arts Centre and again the Africa Centre.
The group's critique of the institutional racism
Institutional racism
Institutional racism describes any kind of system of inequality based on race. It can occur in institutions such as public government bodies, private business corporations , and universities . The term was coined by Black Power activist Stokely Carmichael in the late 1960s...
of Britain's art world was part of the impetus that led to The Other Story, a seminal survey of African and Asian artists at London's Hayward Gallery
Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre, part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings and also the Royal National Theatre and British Film Institute...
in 1989 as well as the founding of the Association of Black Photographers
Association of Black Photographers
The Association of Black Photographers is a British based, international, non-profit-making, photographic arts agency...
and the establishment of Iniva
InIVA
Iniva is the Institute of International Visual Art, an arts institution that represents artists, curators and writers. It consists of exhibition spaces and the Stuart Hall Library, and together with Autograph ABP is housed in Rivington Place, a visual arts centre in Shoreditch, in the heart of...
, the Institute of International Visual arts. Piper and Chambers themselves have both gone on to achieve veteran status as educators, writers and curators.
Critical Appraisal
Eddie Chambers has argued that despite their undoubted creativity and social relevance, the group suffered from the general lack of serious critical attention given to black artists by the British Arts media Nevertheless, their enthusiasm and commitment to making art relevant to everyday life ensured that they were a strong influence on the later generation of black British artists that included YBAs like Chris OfiliChris Ofili
Chris Ofili is a Turner Prize winning British painter best known for artworks referencing aspects of his Nigerian heritage, particularly his incorporation of elephant dung. He was one of the Young British Artists, and is now based in Trinidad.-Early life:Ofilli was born in Manchester. He had a...
and Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen (artist)
Steve Rodney McQueen CBE is a British artist and filmmaker. He is a winner of the Golden Camera at the Cannes Film Festival, a Turner Prize and BAFTA.-Early years:...
both of whom went on to win the Turner Prize
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...
, whilst maintaining a clear political element to their work.
Artists Associated with the BLK Art Group
- Faisal Abdu'allahFaisal Abdu'allahFaisal Abdu'allah is a British artist and barber. His work includes photography, screen print and installations.-Life and work:...
- consequent - David A Bailey - contemporary
- Sonia BoyceSonia BoyceSonia Dawn Boyce,MBE born in London in 1962 is a British Afro-Caribbean artist, living and working in London. She studied at Stourbridge College in the West Midlands. She works across a range of media including photography, installation and text. She came to prominence as part of the Black British...
- contemporary - Denzil Forrester - contemporary
- Godfried DonkorGodfried DonkorGodfried Donkor is a Ghanaian artist, living and working in London. He is known primarily for his work in collage, and has been described as similar to Keith Piper and Isaac Julien in his output. Some of his pieces depict boxers, such as Jack Johnson and Mohammad Ali...
- consequent - Lubaina HimidLubaina HimidLubaina HimidBorn1954 WebsiteLubaina Himid is a contemporary African artist African artist and Professor of Contemporary Art at the University of Central Lancashire. Her art focuses on themes of cultural history and reclaiming identities...
- contemporary - Claudette Johnson - contemporary
- Tam JosephTam JosephTam Joseph is a British painter, printmaker and sculptor. One of his best known paintings is his 1983 work "Spirit of the Carnival", a reference to the Notting Hill Carnival....
- forerunner/contemporary - Virginia NimarkohVirginia Nimarkoh-Career:In 1990 a series of Nimarkoh's photo-installations were selected by Henry Bond and Sarah Lucas for inclusion in their warehouse exhibition East Country Yard Show....
- contemporary - Pitika NtuliPitika NtuliPitika Ntuli is a South African sculptor, poet, writer, and academic who spent 32 years of his life in exile in Swaziland and the UK. He holds an MFA from the Pratt Institute in New York and an MA in Comparative Industrial Relations and Industrial Sociology...
- forerunner/contemporary - Eugene PalmerEugene PalmerEugene Palmer is a Jamaican born British artist. His work uses archival records, photographs, and contemporary media imagery as basis for his paintings. Palmer has had a long association with art curators and exhibitors Eddie Chambers and Keith Piper and is recognised as one of the leading Black...
- contemporary - Mark Sealy - contemporary
- Maud Sulter - contemporary