Waldemar Januszczak
Encyclopedia
Waldemar 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. Januszczak is also a film maker of television arts documentaries and the Director of ZCZ Films.
, Hampshire
to Polish refugees who had arrived in Britain after World War II
. His father, a policeman in Poland, whose job had included exposing Communists, found work as a railway carriage cleaner and died, aged 57, when a train ran over him at Basingstoke station. His widow, then aged 33, found work as a dairymaid. Waldemar was one year old.
The young Januszczak attended Divine Mercy College, a school for the children of Polish refugees which the Congregation of Marian Fathers
had set up at Fawley Court
, Henley-on-Thames
.
. In 1990 he was appointed Head of Arts at the UK
's Channel 4 television and in 1992 he became art critic for The Sunday Times
. He has been voted Critic of the Year twice by the Press Association
.http://www.channel4.com/more4/personalities/waldemar.html
Januszczak has been described as, "a passionate art lover, art critic and writer. His presentation style is casual but informed, enthusiastic, evocative and humorous. He bumbles about on our TV screens, doing for art what David Attenborough
has done for the natural world," and someone who acts out of "a refusal to present art as elitist in any way. He makes it utterly accessible and understandable."
In 1997, he took part in a Channel 4
discussion called The Death of Painting, occasioned by the absence of painters from that year's Turner Prize
. The programme was made famous when an apparently drunk Tracey Emin
swore at the other participants and left after ten minutes.
In 2002, when insurance broker and art collector Ivan Massow
lashed out at conceptual art
in general and said that Tracey Emin
could not "think her way out of a paper bag", Januszczak observed in a letter to The Independent
that "thinking" would not be very helpful in those circumstances.
In 2004 he differed from most critics in his defence of the art of Stella Vine
, singling her out for praise in his otherwise hostile review of the Saatchi Gallery
's New Blood show ("although I didn't much want to like Vine’s contribution, I found I did. It had something"), and continuing to champion her, seeing "a combination of empathy and cynicism that can be startling." Later that year he was a Christmas special critics edition of the television quiz show University Challenge
.
Reviewing the exhibition Americans in Paris at London
's National Gallery in 2006, he described James McNeill Whistler
's Symphony in White No 1 as "a clumsy bit of cake-making with thick smudges of white rubbed into the canvas in coarse, dry skid marks". "Even Whistler’s renowned mother manages here to underwhelm", he complained. Hoax
ed by artist Jamie Shovlin
, Januszczak later that year 'revealed' in his paper how the 1970s glam rock
band Lustfaust
had "cocked a notorious snook at the music industry in the late 1970s by giving away their music on blank cassettes and getting their fans to design their own covers". The band had never existed outside Shovlin's fiction. Januszczak replied that Shovlin should be applauded for his capacity to remind us of the crucial place of the artist in today's society as he made clear that "Reality simply cannot be trusted any more".
In October 2008, Januszczak co-curated a show at the British Museum called Statuephilia, in which modern sculptures by 6 artists were shown next to their more ancient counterparts. The show was inspired during his creation of the series 'The Sculpture Diaries'; a three part series on sculpture around the world which was first aired on the 31st of August 2008 on channel 4.
Note: Only some of these films have had commercial DVD releases. Most of the remaining films have now become available directly from the ZCZ Films shop.
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...
art critic. Formerly the art critic of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, he now writes for The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
, and has twice won the Critic of the Year award. Januszczak is also a film maker of television arts documentaries and the Director of ZCZ Films.
Life
Waldemar Januszczak was born in BasingstokeBasingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
to Polish refugees who had arrived in Britain after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His father, a policeman in Poland, whose job had included exposing Communists, found work as a railway carriage cleaner and died, aged 57, when a train ran over him at Basingstoke station. His widow, then aged 33, found work as a dairymaid. Waldemar was one year old.
The young Januszczak attended Divine Mercy College, a school for the children of Polish refugees which the Congregation of Marian Fathers
Congregation of Marian Fathers
The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary is a Roman Catholic male clerical religious congregation founded, 1673, in Poland...
had set up at Fawley Court
Fawley Court
Fawley Court is a country house standing on the banks of the River Thames at Fawley in the English county of Buckinghamshire, just north of Henley-on-Thames. The former deer park extended over the border into Oxfordshire...
, Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
.
Career
After studying History of Art at Manchester University, Januszczak became art critic – and then arts editor – of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. In 1990 he was appointed Head of Arts at the UK
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...
's Channel 4 television and in 1992 he became art critic for The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
. He has been voted Critic of the Year twice by the Press Association
Press Association
The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally...
.http://www.channel4.com/more4/personalities/waldemar.html
Januszczak has been described as, "a passionate art lover, art critic and writer. His presentation style is casual but informed, enthusiastic, evocative and humorous. He bumbles about on our TV screens, doing for art what David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
has done for the natural world," and someone who acts out of "a refusal to present art as elitist in any way. He makes it utterly accessible and understandable."
In 1997, he took part in a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
discussion called The Death of Painting, occasioned by the absence of painters from that year's 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...
. The programme was made famous when an apparently drunk 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 ....
swore at the other participants and left after ten minutes.
In 2002, when insurance broker and art collector Ivan Massow
Ivan Massow
Ivan Massow is a British entrepreneur and financial adviser. He founded PayMeMy.com in September 2011; a service which pays back 'trail' commissions - often thousands of pounds a year - to policy-holders themselves, instead of the IFAs who originally set the policies up.Ivan was also Chairman of...
lashed out at 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...
in general and said that 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 ....
could not "think her way out of a paper bag", Januszczak observed in a letter to The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
that "thinking" would not be very helpful in those circumstances.
In 2004 he differed from most critics in his defence of the art of 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...
, singling her out for praise in his otherwise hostile review of the Saatchi Gallery
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 show ("although I didn't much want to like Vine’s contribution, I found I did. It had something"), and continuing to champion her, seeing "a combination of empathy and cynicism that can be startling." Later that year he was a Christmas special critics edition of the television quiz show University Challenge
University Challenge
University Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....
.
Reviewing the exhibition Americans in Paris at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's National Gallery in 2006, he described James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
's Symphony in White No 1 as "a clumsy bit of cake-making with thick smudges of white rubbed into the canvas in coarse, dry skid marks". "Even Whistler’s renowned mother manages here to underwhelm", he complained. Hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
ed by artist Jamie Shovlin
Jamie Shovlin
Jamie Shovlin is a British conceptual artist.He staged his first exhibition in 2004 basing it on what he claimed were the drawings of a disappeared schoolgirl called Naomi V. Jelish. He supported this claim with newspaper cuttings and diaries, and the work was bought for £25,000 by Charles Saatchi...
, Januszczak later that year 'revealed' in his paper how the 1970s glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
band Lustfaust
Lustfaust
Lustfaust was a hoax 1970s German electronic music band, whose memorabilia was notably featured in the Beck's Futures exhibition in 2006, and which deceived Sunday Times cultural commentator Waldemar Januszczak into running an article describing their claimed activities in giving away free copies...
had "cocked a notorious snook at the music industry in the late 1970s by giving away their music on blank cassettes and getting their fans to design their own covers". The band had never existed outside Shovlin's fiction. Januszczak replied that Shovlin should be applauded for his capacity to remind us of the crucial place of the artist in today's society as he made clear that "Reality simply cannot be trusted any more".
In October 2008, Januszczak co-curated a show at the British Museum called Statuephilia, in which modern sculptures by 6 artists were shown next to their more ancient counterparts. The show was inspired during his creation of the series 'The Sculpture Diaries'; a three part series on sculpture around the world which was first aired on the 31st of August 2008 on channel 4.
Films
Januszczak has been making films since 1997 with his production company ZCZ Films.- The Truth About Art (Channel 4, 1998) about why some subjects have such a hold on the human imagination. (Three-episode series)
- The Lost Supper (Channel 4, 1999) about the restoration of The Last Supper.
- The Cowboy and the Eclipse (Channel 4, 1999) about James TurrellJames TurrellJames Turrell is an American artist primarily concerned with light and space. Turrell was a MacArthur Fellow in 1984. He is represented by The Pace Gallery in New York...
's earthwork sculpture in Cornwall. - Mad Tracey from Margate (BBC, 1999) about Tracey EminTracey EminTracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
. - Puppy Love (Channel 4, 2000) about Januszczak's modest dislike of dogs and intense hatred of dog aficionados.
- Travels in Virtual Japan (Channel 4, 2000) about Japanese technological innovation.
- Building of the Year (Channel 4, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003). Coverage of the annual Stirling PrizeStirling PrizeThe Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...
for new architecture. - PicassoPablo PicassoPablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
: Magic, Sex And Death (Channel 4, 2001) with the artist's friend and biographer, John RichardsonJohn Richardson (art historian)John Richardson is a British art historian and Picasso biographer.-Life and work:John Patrick Richardson was born as the elder son of Sir Wodehouse Richardson, D.S.O., K.C.B., Quarter-Master General in the Boer War, and founder of London and the British Empire's Army & Navy Stores...
. (Three-episode series) - Gauguin: The Full Story (Channel 4, 2003) about Paul GauguinPaul GauguinEugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
. - Beijing Swings (Channel 4, 2003) about extreme art in BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. - Every Picture Tells A Story (Channel 5, 2003/2004) about the backgrounds of eight masterpieces. (Two 4-episode series)
- Vincent: The Full Story (Channel 4, 2004) about Vincent van GoghVincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
. (Three-episode series) - Kazakhstan Swings (Channel 4, 2006) about contemporary art in KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. - The MichelangeloMichelangeloMichelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
Code: Secrets of the Sistine ChapelSistine ChapelSistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio...
(Channel 4, 2005). - Toulouse-Lautrec: The Full Story (Channel 4, 2006) about Henri Toulouse-Lautrec.
- Sickert vs Sargent (BBC, 2007) about the war between two immigrants–Walter SickertWalter SickertWalter Richard Sickert , born in Munich, Germany, was a painter who was a member of the Camden Town Group in London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the 20th century....
and John Singer SargentJohn Singer SargentJohn Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
–for the soul of British art. - Paradise Found (Channel 4, 2007) about Islamic architectureIslamic architectureIslamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
and Islamic artIslamic artIslamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
. - The Happy Dictator (Channel 4, 2007) about the former president of TurkmenistanTurkmenistanTurkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
. - Atlas: Japan Revealed (Discovery Channel, 2008). Series 3, Episode 2 in the Discovery AtlasDiscovery AtlasDiscovery Atlas is a documentary television series on the Discovery Channel and Discovery HD Theater which focuses on the cultural, sociological, and natural aspects of various countries by exploring their different peoples, traditions, and lands. The documentary follows the lives and individual...
series. (Janusczak served as executive producer only; not as an on-camera presenter or narrator.) - The Sculpture Diaries (Channel 4, 2008) about sculptural depictions of women and leaders, as well as earthworks and land art. (Three-episode series)
- Baroque! – From St Peter's to St Paul'sBaroque! From St Peter's to St Paul'sBaroque! From St Peter's to St Paul's was a three-part BBC Four documentary series on the painting, sculpture and architecture of the Baroque period. It was written and presented by Waldemar Januszczak and first broadcast in March 2009...
(BBC, 2009). An overview of the BaroqueBaroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
in many of its key locations. (Three-episode series) - ManetÉdouard ManetÉdouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
: the Man Who Invented Modern Art (BBC, 2009) about Édouard ManetÉdouard ManetÉdouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
and his influence on art. - Ugly Beauty (BBC, 2009) about contemporary art.
Note: Only some of these films have had commercial DVD releases. Most of the remaining films have now become available directly from the ZCZ Films shop.
Judgements
- On the Turner PrizeTurner PrizeThe 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...
(1984):
- The British art establishment, having already shown unforgivable ignorance and wickedness in its dealings with Turner's own Bequest to the nation, is now bandying his name about in the hope of giving some spurious historical credibility to a new prize cynically concocted to promote the interest of a small group of dealers, gallery directors and critics.
- On the Turner PrizeTurner PrizeThe 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...
(1985):
- On the Turner Prize
- The Turner Prize, like the rot of the Arts Council, the rise of business sponsorship with strings attached, the growing importance of the PR man in art, the mess at the V&A, and the emergence of the ignorant "art consultant" is the direct result of inadequate government support for the arts. Forced out into the business circus, art has had to start clowning around.