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STAFF PROFILE
University of Kent / ARTS STUDIO
AMANDA BEECH
Professor Amanda Beech is an artist and writer. Her
work uses a range of media including video, sculpture,
installation and drawing and she has exhibited
internationally, most recently in Berlin and
London’s Tate Britain. She taught at Goldsmiths and
the University of the Arts in London before arriving at
Kent in October 2010.
When did you know you wanted
to be an artist?
It really never felt like a choice since
I can’t imagine doing anything else.
I make art, and I enjoy writing and
curating as these are part of my
practice and loop back into the
production of art. When I was
studying art, I spent most of my
time painting and, even though I
haven’t painted for 15 years or so,
I still draw and consider most of
my work to be defined through
producing pictures; whether the
work is produced in time-based or
three dimensional media. The idea
of producing and working with
images remains central to my work.
What is the main inspiration for
your own practice?
I am interested in the power and
force of the image as well as
images of force. In particular, the
question of how these forces
moblise, organise and ask us to
rethink what images mean and how
we relate to them, is central to all my
work. This work is inspired by the
problems of thinking about the big
themes of agency, critique, freedom
and truth and how they are possible
in western neoliberal democracy.
Therefore, my work entangles a
wide variety of research, including
philosophical texts, TV shows such
as CSI: Miami and film noir. I also
co-direct two research groups which
include academics, writers and
artists and discuss current issues
in art research. I enjoy testing my
ideas in these kinds of environments
and sharing these concerns through
live discussion.
What attracted you to Kent?
Coming from an art college, I liked
the fact that at Kent there is a wider
reach of research that includes
science-based and humanities
programmes and this of course
opens up possibilities to work
across disciplines. I was also
attracted by the space available:
there are large studios and
interesting outside spaces which are
ideal for sculpture and large work.
There are also lots of opportunities
for the students to show their work,
all of which leads to a quite
progressive sense of practice.
How is studying Fine Art at
Kent different to studying it
elsewhere?
It is an exciting time to be at Kent.
We are working together across
Fine Art, Music, and Event and
Experience Design to create a
new common framework for the
curriculum, allowing students from
all disciplines to be taught together.
Dedicated specialists will teach
subject-specific skills, but, once
a week, students will have the
opportunity to share their
experiences and discuss aspects
of their work with each other.
Through these joint sessions, they
gain an understanding of each
other’s skills and expertise which
helps to accelerate their learning.
The sessions will also give them
the chance to make contacts with
people who they may well end
up working with in the future.
How do students find the
critiques?
Understanding how criticism works
is fundamental to students’ ability to
be responsible to their practice.
They need to understand the
difference between anecdotal
feelings and analysis and critical
commentary, and also to understand
that being critical is not a negative
thing. It is a challenging environment
for students – their assumptions are
tested – but by the time they leave
the course they understand better
what shapes and informs their
decisions and judgements, how
they are constructed and that they
are part of a wider set of cultural
debates.
What do you enjoy about
teaching?
Seeing students bring in new ideas
about what art can be and inventive
approaches to making art is
inspiring. It is enthralling to listen to
people who have a really different
take on the world. All the students
are different and that is what makes
teaching fascinating and worthwhile.
How do you see the future for
your students?
I think Fine Art produces graduates
who are innovative, creative and
analytical in their thinking. They
understand what underlies the
existing frameworks of society and
have the imagination to see the
world in different and unusual ways.
It is a big claim to make for art, but I
do believe that people who graduate
from arts courses can change the
way we think about our culture and
ourselves, can change society and,
hopefully, make it better. A student
from Kent could produce work in
ways that we might not have thought
of yet – creating images that ask us
to readdress our relation to society
and each other. They could write
new understandings of what images
mean, and curate at international
galleries such as the Serpentine
Gallery in London, programming
what the public will see for the next
20 years. The promise of such
innovation and professionalism,
as well as wielding that kind of
influence, is quite a remarkable
thing.
Amanda Beech, Sanity Assassin, three-channel video installation with sound, 2010
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