Issue 2 - The Art Newspaper

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16 BOOKS CONTEMPORARY ART The relationship between the commissioner of a work of art and the artist charged with delivering it is, writes Louisa Buck, “almost analogous to a marriage”. Which goes some way to explaining why commissioned works are on some occasions so lifeaffirming and on others so deeply regrettable. This well-conceived and eminently practical book is required reading for anyone intending to enter into this precarious union. Commissioning Contemporary Art is an introduction to, and a stepby-step guide through, the process of inviting an artist to fulfil an assignment. Buck, who is the contemporary art correspondent for The Art Newspaper, identifies the challenges that this collaborative activity presents. The most predictable being that artists are defensive of their ideas, the patrons of their budgets, and each resents the disruption of one by the other. This self-styled handbook is useful to all parties as a means of avoiding the mistakes that can derail a project. It begins with a potted history of commissioning, reminding the reader that so many of the paintings and sculptures we revere today were made to satisfy a rich patron rather than an inner necessity. We are reminded, too, that while the treatment of artists as artisans might now seem demeaning, it in no way diminishes the quality of a work undertaken under contract. One need only visit a church in Rome to see that many of the greatest works of art were custom-made to fulfil a preordained purpose, in a specific location, under the aegis of a powerful institution. This opening chapter also serves to deliver the point that the most fundamental principle to commissioning remains unchanged through the ages: pick good artists in whose talents you trust, and back them to the hilt. Yet while the commissioning process is nearly as old as art itself, Buck points out that its scope “has not so much expanded as exploded”. The proliferation of contemporary artistic modes such as film, installation and performance have expanded vastly the range of possibilities open to both artist and commissioner, and by extension the capacity for misconstruction. This book advises on how to best ensure that all parties are working towards the same ends by instituting procedural safeguards, both formal and informal, into the delivery programme. It is clear that working under commission can bring extraordinary benefits for both the artist and curator. By providing “the facilities or funds (or both) to develop aspects of an artist’s work that would hitherto have been impossible to achieve”, commissions have enabled the creation of breakthrough works by innumerable artists, from Rachel Whiteread to Jeremy Deller. The process also offers collectors and curators a greater personal involvement in the creation of a work than is allowed by the acquisition of pieces created without consideration for their ultimate placement, one reason that “direct patronage has traditionally had a status that extends beyond mere acquisition”. There is an illicit thrill to be gained in intervening in the creative process which, according to several examples listed here, should in most cases be thoroughly suppressed. Among the book’s most enlightening quotations is a wonderful anecdote in which the collector Dennis Scholl describes his excitement at working on a commission with the British Marc Quinn’s commission for the Fourth Plinth: Alison Lapper Pregnant, 2005 Commissioning laid bare An instruction manual for curators, collectors and artists Bertozzi & Casoni, Plate with Flamingo, Polychrome ceramic, 68 × 75 × 75cm BERTOZZI & CASONI regeneration 13 october ‒ 10 november 2012 10am ‒ 6pm private view 12 october 7 ‒ 9pm ALL VISUAL ARTS 2 omega place london n1 9dr THE ART NEWSPAPER FRIEZE ART FAIR Wednesday 10 October 2012 “The relationship between the artist and the commissioner is akin to a marriage” artist Liam Gillick. After the Miami-based collector’s second enthusiastic revision to the proposal, suggesting that blue be substituted for orange, Scholl received an email from the artist. It read: “Do you want the fucking piece or not?” Since then, Scholl concedes ruefully, “I’ve never ‘helped’ again.” By providing a near-comprehensive survey of the most important contemporary art commissions undertaken in the past 40 years, the book allows the reader to identify elements common to best practice. While these exemplar are interesting and informative, it is frustrating that the publication has no place for illustrative photographs to which the reader can refer. With that proviso, Commissioning Contemporary Art is pleasingly designed, with quotes from influential artists, curators, patrons and gallerists scattered across the pages, and surprisingly readable for a book the primary function of which is as instruction manual. Curators, collectors and artists will also be indebted to the co-author, Daniel McClean, a specialist in art law, for his mercifully jargon-free guidance on such potentially divisive (and costly) practicalities as maintenance, copyright and contractual negotiations. The second half of this book provides a thorough appraisal of how best to address every applied issue that arises in any commission, be it for a private foundation or a public institution. Together, the art critic and legal expert successfully demythologise the process of commissioning a contemporary work of art. The book drums in the simple fact there is no substitute for a close association between the artist and patron, while simultaneously providing all the information required to ensure that this relationship is not disturbed by avoidable conflicts. This book should only encourage the increasing popularity, and ambition, of contemporary art commissions. Benjamin Eastham The author is a freelance writer on the arts and the co-founder and editor of the White Review. He is also the co-editor of Mythos Berlin: a London Perspective, which is due to be published today with the support of the German Embassy, London METAMORPHOSIS the transformation of being 9 ‒12 october 2012 10am ‒ 8pm ALL VISUAL ARTS the crypt one marylebone london nw1 4qa ALL VISUAL ARTS WWW.ALLVISUALARTS.ORG T.+44 (0)20 7843 0410 INFO@ALLVISUALARTS.ORG Francis Picabia, La Chienne de Baskerville, 1932–33 (detail), oil on wood. Courtesy Gallerie Haas Commissioning Contemporary Art: a Handbook for Curators, Collectors and Artists Louisa Buck and Daniel McClean Thames & Hudson, 320pp, £18.95 (hb) LOZ FLOWERS
www.pad-fairs.com 88-Gallery UK Adrian Sassoon UK Ben Brown Fine Arts UK / Hong Kong Blairman & Sons Ltd UK Caroline Van Hoek Belgium Carpenters Workshop Gallery UK / France Castelli Gallery USA Chahan Gallery France Cristina Grajales USA Dansk Møbelkunst Denmark / France David Gill UK Dickinson UK / USA Didier Limited UK Elisabetta Cipriani UK Entwistle UK / France Friedman Benda USA Gabrielle Ammann // Gallery Germany Galerie Diane de Polignac France Galerie Downtown – F. Laffanour France Galerie Gmurzynska Switzerland OFFICIAL PARTNERS Patron of the Prize Galerie Hopkins France Galerie Jacques de la Béraudière Switzerland Galerie Jacques Lacoste France Galerie Maria Wettergren France Galerie Mermoz France Galerie Pascal Lansberg France Galerie du Passage France Galerie Thomas Germany Galerie Vedovi Belgium Galerie Willy Huybrechts France Galleria Rossella Colombari Italy Gallery Fumi UK Gallery Seomi Korea Hamiltons Gallery UK Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert UK Hervé Van der Straeten France Jean-David Botella France Jousse Entreprise France Karry Berreby France L&M Arts USA 10-14 OCTOBER 2012 BERKELEY SQ LONDON W1 11AM - 8PM MEDIA PARTNERS Lefevre Fine Art UK Louisa Guinness Gallery UK Luxembourg & Dayan UK / USA The Mayor Gallery UK Mayoral Galeria d’Art Spain Michael Hoppen Gallery UK Mitchell-Innes & Nash USA Modernity Sweden Offer Waterman & Co UK Olyvia Fine Art UK / Korea Paul Kasmin Gallery USA Pearl Lam Design China Priveekollektie Netherlands Richard Nagy Ltd. UK Robin Katz Fine Art UK Skarstedt Gallery USA Stellan Holm Gallery USA Tega Italy Van de Weghe Fine Art USA Waddington Custot Galleries UK
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