Stuart Brisley
Encyclopedia
Stuart Brisley is widely regarded as the seminal figure of British performance art. Over a career of half a century Stuart Brisley has come to the conclusion, as stated in his recent novel "Beyond Reason: Ordure" (2003) that 'what goes down comes up'. Although often hailed as the 'godfather of British performance art', Brisley is a more complex figure, whose practice extends to painting, community projects and pseudo-curatorial installations. Brisley has been at the forefront of experimentation and political debate within the visual arts – performance artist, painter, sculptor, writer, sound artist, film and video maker, uniting all these working methods is a concern for things that have fallen down (detritus on the streets, human excrement), or have been otherwise marginalised (miners, bin men).
He has been an enduring influence on many of the present generation of Young British Artists
and his radical practice has been an important contribution to British art, playing a fundamental role in the development of installation and performance art.
As Richard Gott
wrote in the introduction to the catalogue for Brisley's exhibition Black at the South London Gallery in 1996, 'Homage to Brisley's performances and installations and references to his work, can be found in many unexpected places and in the work of other artists'.
His work examines the actuality and context of art within Western capitalism. At the centre of this diverse work lies his exploration of the essential qualities of what it means to be human, he has challenged the human body in physical, psychological and emotional ways. Vulnerable, exposed, Brisley's 'body in struggle' dramatized the conflict between human autonomy and the instrumental forces of bureaucratic and state power.
Influenced by Marxist counter-cultural politics in the 1960s, he adopted performance as the democratic basis for a new relationship between artist and audience. Brisley first achieved notoriety in the 1960s and '70s and is perhaps best-known for his disturbing physical performances. His work as an artist extends over five decades, embracing projects that are socially centred including Hille Project 1970, Peterlee Project - History Within Living Memory (1976-77),The Cenotaph Project with Maya Balcioglu (1987- 1991), Museum of Ordure 2004 – . On his return from Peterlee, Brisley created his own imaginary institution and between 1979 and 1986 Brisley instituted The Georgiana Collection, working with his local community, in this case homeless people sharing the same street where he lived.
'Recently Brisley, in a series of performances and an extended text, has concerned himself with ordure and its collection by a character named Rosse Yael Sirb, a character he - the artist narrator – claims to have first met while he was a corporal in charge of stores during national service in West Germany', Sirb is contrasted by another figure, Bertrand Vollieme, collector of junk and detritus.'
In 1968, Brisley helped lead the Hornsey Sit-in, in protest of teaching practices common at British Art schools. This protest helped him gain a reputation for challenging norms, and his appointment as professor of Media Fine Art Graduate Studies at the Slade School of Art, part of the University College London
, was and remains unique in that he was the only staff member to be appointed by the student body.
His critical motivations remain unchanged: the production of a political art that in its richness of metaphor and range of expressive resources is capable of capturing the 'morbid symptoms' of capitalist culture.
Stuart Brisley 'It wasn't a protest against bureaucracy as such, it was really much more a protest against conspicuous individualism, which is another kind of conformity, much more difficult to combat, and totalitarian in its effect. I thought of the use of my own body as being like a figure, a human figure, but not necessarily a specific person. The camera can stand for the audience; the presence of the camera is quite important. Sometimes it becomes more important than a person because it represents a certain sort of future.
The individual, in relation to groups of people or groupings and also in relation to social division, is what I am very conscious of in all that I do, whether it be as an artist working in an institution like the Hayward Gallery
or in the street or in education. It seems to be that in any kind of social circumstance one bumps into in Britain, one bumps into that social hierarchy and therefore it becomes the theme of my work.
All the time there's been a desire, an inarticulate desire, to find sources which are not the result of the imperialism coming from either America or more recently Germany, and sources that aren't located up on the 'high cultural area'.
It is difficult to do a work which isn't in some way reliant on the past. The problem of history was my recognition that in any new work one starts from a known position even though one has aspirations of doing a new work. It is inevitable that it is rooted in the past. I don't expect the future history of where we are at the moment to include activities that I personally feel committed to or understand – those more lively, more exploratory activities – they are the ones that aren't going to be celebrated.
At one stage I was thinking of my works as propositions – I did not see them as being failures or successes – always dealing essentially with the same central issue, which was the relationship between myself and others in the audience and the problem of class structures, inequality, and so on.
When I started 'live work' it was very much to do with dispensing with 'middle men', to work directly with a group of people, dealing with notions of equality for myself as much as anybody else.
The only way that one can actually have any social function – maybe not even as an artist, but as someone operating within culture – is in fact to think in other cultural terms.
I would like to be in a position where I could actually move beyond, or get to a point where I wasn't actually making performances. It's just a recognition that performance has, as anything does, its limitations.
It is very curious to look at the kind of imperialist cultural actions that are going on and have gone on, like the American 'invasion' from 1956 onwards, the German 'invasion' from 1970 onwards. We are colonised to a large extent in the cultural field by those cultural activities which stem from countries with great political and economic power in the capitalist sense. The very notion of art, it seems to me, has an aspect of alienation about it'.
Stuart Brisley is represented in numerous public and private collections worldwide. In Britain his work is represented in the Tate
, Arts Council
of Great Britain, Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Museums & Galleries, British Museum
.
Stuart Brisley lives and works in Shoreditch
in the East End of London and in Istanbul
.
He has been an enduring influence on many of the present generation of 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...
and his radical practice has been an important contribution to British art, playing a fundamental role in the development of installation and performance art.
As Richard Gott
Richard Gott
Richard Willoughby Gott is a British journalist and historian, who has written extensively on Latin America...
wrote in the introduction to the catalogue for Brisley's exhibition Black at the South London Gallery in 1996, 'Homage to Brisley's performances and installations and references to his work, can be found in many unexpected places and in the work of other artists'.
His work examines the actuality and context of art within Western capitalism. At the centre of this diverse work lies his exploration of the essential qualities of what it means to be human, he has challenged the human body in physical, psychological and emotional ways. Vulnerable, exposed, Brisley's 'body in struggle' dramatized the conflict between human autonomy and the instrumental forces of bureaucratic and state power.
Influenced by Marxist counter-cultural politics in the 1960s, he adopted performance as the democratic basis for a new relationship between artist and audience. Brisley first achieved notoriety in the 1960s and '70s and is perhaps best-known for his disturbing physical performances. His work as an artist extends over five decades, embracing projects that are socially centred including Hille Project 1970, Peterlee Project - History Within Living Memory (1976-77),The Cenotaph Project with Maya Balcioglu (1987- 1991), Museum of Ordure 2004 – . On his return from Peterlee, Brisley created his own imaginary institution and between 1979 and 1986 Brisley instituted The Georgiana Collection, working with his local community, in this case homeless people sharing the same street where he lived.
'Recently Brisley, in a series of performances and an extended text, has concerned himself with ordure and its collection by a character named Rosse Yael Sirb, a character he - the artist narrator – claims to have first met while he was a corporal in charge of stores during national service in West Germany', Sirb is contrasted by another figure, Bertrand Vollieme, collector of junk and detritus.'
Works
In his performance work, Brisley engages the audience and establishes a dialogue of action and reaction that induces a release from conventions of social behaviour. He has also examined the body politic and images of power; his paintings, prints and sculpture have expressed a literary and symbolic approach to power as represented in the media.In 1968, Brisley helped lead the Hornsey Sit-in, in protest of teaching practices common at British Art schools. This protest helped him gain a reputation for challenging norms, and his appointment as professor of Media Fine Art Graduate Studies at the Slade School of Art, part of the University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, was and remains unique in that he was the only staff member to be appointed by the student body.
His critical motivations remain unchanged: the production of a political art that in its richness of metaphor and range of expressive resources is capable of capturing the 'morbid symptoms' of capitalist culture.
Transcript
This double issue of Audio Arts is based on nine hours of recording made in four sessions during February and March 1981. Although discussion is centred around eleven works carried out since 1972, Brisley talks extensively about his attitudes and concerns as an artist and of the issues surrounding live work. This issue was published to coincide with Brisley’s retrospective exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, in May 1981.Stuart Brisley 'It wasn't a protest against bureaucracy as such, it was really much more a protest against conspicuous individualism, which is another kind of conformity, much more difficult to combat, and totalitarian in its effect. I thought of the use of my own body as being like a figure, a human figure, but not necessarily a specific person. The camera can stand for the audience; the presence of the camera is quite important. Sometimes it becomes more important than a person because it represents a certain sort of future.
The individual, in relation to groups of people or groupings and also in relation to social division, is what I am very conscious of in all that I do, whether it be as an artist working in an institution like the 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...
or in the street or in education. It seems to be that in any kind of social circumstance one bumps into in Britain, one bumps into that social hierarchy and therefore it becomes the theme of my work.
All the time there's been a desire, an inarticulate desire, to find sources which are not the result of the imperialism coming from either America or more recently Germany, and sources that aren't located up on the 'high cultural area'.
It is difficult to do a work which isn't in some way reliant on the past. The problem of history was my recognition that in any new work one starts from a known position even though one has aspirations of doing a new work. It is inevitable that it is rooted in the past. I don't expect the future history of where we are at the moment to include activities that I personally feel committed to or understand – those more lively, more exploratory activities – they are the ones that aren't going to be celebrated.
At one stage I was thinking of my works as propositions – I did not see them as being failures or successes – always dealing essentially with the same central issue, which was the relationship between myself and others in the audience and the problem of class structures, inequality, and so on.
When I started 'live work' it was very much to do with dispensing with 'middle men', to work directly with a group of people, dealing with notions of equality for myself as much as anybody else.
The only way that one can actually have any social function – maybe not even as an artist, but as someone operating within culture – is in fact to think in other cultural terms.
I would like to be in a position where I could actually move beyond, or get to a point where I wasn't actually making performances. It's just a recognition that performance has, as anything does, its limitations.
It is very curious to look at the kind of imperialist cultural actions that are going on and have gone on, like the American 'invasion' from 1956 onwards, the German 'invasion' from 1970 onwards. We are colonised to a large extent in the cultural field by those cultural activities which stem from countries with great political and economic power in the capitalist sense. The very notion of art, it seems to me, has an aspect of alienation about it'.
Stuart Brisley is represented in numerous public and private collections worldwide. In Britain his work is represented in the Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
, Arts Council
Arts council
An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...
of Great Britain, Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Museums & Galleries, British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
Stuart Brisley lives and works in Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
in the East End of London and in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
External links
- Stuart Brisley official web site
- Stuart Brisley at the Tate gallery
- Stuart Brisley at the UK Museum of Ordure
- Stuart Brisley at the-artists.org
- The Peterlee Project
- BBC Four Time Shift - Art School and the Hornsey Sit-In
- Stuart Brisley at England&Co
- The Eye Video/Factualtv
- Arts Council England Film Collection
- The Freud Museum
- Stuart Brisley: Crossings
- Live Art Development Agency
- Bookworks
- Art into theatre: performance interviews and documents -by Nick Kaye
- Illuminations
- The British Library
- The British Museum
- Mitchell Algus Gallery
- Audio Arts
- National Library of Scotland / Scottish Screen Archive
- Edinburgh Festival
- Maya Balcioglu
- Stephen Connolly -Filmaker
- Henry Moore Institute