David Lee (art critic)
Encyclopedia
David Lee is an outspoken, English, contemporary, art critic—condemning conceptual art
in general and the Turner Prize
in particular. He publishes and edits The Jackdaw magazine, critical of the contemporary art world.
The Jackdaw was founded in 2000 and is published ten times a year. Its official website gives the description:
The final comment is a response from Birmingham City Art Gallery
to the magazine.
A section of it which he has taken with him from Art Review is titled "Artbollocks", where Lee reprints what he considers to be nonsensical and pretentious use of language by critics, galleries and artists, when describing art. The magazine requires a certain familiarity to appreciate, as leading figures in the artworld are usually referred to by Lee's substitute names for them. Thus Tracey Emin
becomes "the Margate slapper" and Jay Jopling
"Jeremy Fop".
Lee is often quoted in art debates in the press or on radio and television to give the "reactionary" or "common sense" (depending on your point of view) response to art. He does however have sufficient credibility to give evidence to a parliamentary select committee on the hidden collections in UK art Institutions.
He has been linked with the Stuckists art movement because of their similar response to the Young British Artists
, the Turner Prize and conceptual art. However, he is equally opposed to their art and, when the Stuckists offered a donation of work to the Tate Gallery
, he declared: "If the Tate accepts these ridiculous daubs The Jackdaw will dance naked – except for his favourite swastika armband – down Whitehall singing Mamma Mia."
He called the Charles Saatchi
's New Blood exhibition in 2004,
"an assortment of tricks and stunts that was promoted with desperation and hitherto unsuspected tastelessness ... He promoted a rotten, talentless painter called Stella Vine
to public notoriety".
Lee acted as "an independent art critic" for a task in the British 'Big Brother' TV show, broadcast 2 July 2009 where he judged three pieces, two of which were done by housemates and the third by a six year old child. Though Lee was told all three were by housemates, he still judged the six year old's the worst.
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...
in general and 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...
in particular. He publishes and edits The Jackdaw magazine, critical of the contemporary art world.
Career
David Lee was editor of Art Review magazine, but left to found his own satirical, opinionated, often vitriolic, magazine The Jackdaw to continue his campaign at what he sees as unacceptable standards in the art world.The Jackdaw was founded in 2000 and is published ten times a year. Its official website gives the description:
The final comment is a response from Birmingham City Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England.Entrance to the Museum and Art Gallery is free, but some major exhibitions in the Gas Hall incur an entrance fee...
to the magazine.
A section of it which he has taken with him from Art Review is titled "Artbollocks", where Lee reprints what he considers to be nonsensical and pretentious use of language by critics, galleries and artists, when describing art. The magazine requires a certain familiarity to appreciate, as leading figures in the artworld are usually referred to by Lee's substitute names for them. Thus Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
becomes "the Margate slapper" and Jay Jopling
Jay Jopling
Jeremy "Jay" Jopling is an English art dealer and gallery owner. He is closely associated with the YBA artists and his gallery White Cube represents the commercial interests of YBAs Jake & Dinos Chapman, Tracey Emin, Marcus Harvey, Damien Hirst, Gary Hume, Marc Quinn, and Sam Taylor-Wood, whom he...
"Jeremy Fop".
Lee is often quoted in art debates in the press or on radio and television to give the "reactionary" or "common sense" (depending on your point of view) response to art. He does however have sufficient credibility to give evidence to a parliamentary select committee on the hidden collections in UK art Institutions.
He has been linked with the Stuckists art movement because of their similar response to the Young British Artists
Young British Artists
Young British Artists or YBAs is the name given to a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London, in 1988...
, the Turner Prize and conceptual art. However, he is equally opposed to their art and, when the Stuckists offered a donation of work to the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
, he declared: "If the Tate accepts these ridiculous daubs The Jackdaw will dance naked – except for his favourite swastika armband – down Whitehall singing Mamma Mia."
He called the Charles Saatchi
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art, opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to exhibit his collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and currently in Chelsea. Saatchi's collection, and...
's New Blood exhibition in 2004,
"an assortment of tricks and stunts that was promoted with desperation and hitherto unsuspected tastelessness ... He promoted a rotten, talentless painter called Stella Vine
Stella Vine
Stella Vine is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting with subject matter drawn from either her personal life of family, friends and school, or rock stars, royalty and celebrities.After a difficult relationship with her stepfather, she left home and in...
to public notoriety".
Lee acted as "an independent art critic" for a task in the British 'Big Brother' TV show, broadcast 2 July 2009 where he judged three pieces, two of which were done by housemates and the third by a six year old child. Though Lee was told all three were by housemates, he still judged the six year old's the worst.
See also
- Other contemporary UK art critics
- Adrian SearleAdrian SearleAdrian Searle is the chief art critic of The Guardian newspaper in Britain, and has been writing for the paper since 1996. Previously he was a painter. He curates art shows and also writes fiction.-Career:...
- Louisa BuckLouisa BuckLouisa Buck is a British art critic and contemporary art correspondent for The Art Newspaper. She was a jurist for the 2005 Turner Prize.-Life:...
- Brian SewellBrian SewellBrian Sewell is an English art critic and media personality. He writes for the London Evening Standard and is noted for artistic conservatism and his acerbic view of the Turner Prize and conceptual art...
- Sarah KentSarah KentSarah Kent is a British art critic, formerly the art editor of the weekly London 'what's on' guide Time Out. She was an early supporter of the Young British Artists in general, and Tracey Emin in particular, helping her to get early exposure. This has led to polarised reactions of praise and...
- Waldemar JanuszczakWaldemar JanuszczakWaldemar Januszczak is a British art critic. Formerly the art critic of The Guardian, he now writes for The Sunday Times, and has twice won the Critic of the Year award...
- Matthew CollingsMatthew Collings-Life and career:In one of his books on art, Collings states that, in his early teenage years, he ran away to Canada. This act was preceded by a period of hanging around in a house in Oakley Street, Chelsea, whose residents included members of various rock bands including Mighty Baby and Family...