• Home
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Date/Time
  • Login
  • Subscribe

logo

  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economics & Finance
  • World
  • Arts & Books
  • Life
  • Science
  • Philosophy
  • Subscribe
  • Events
Home
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • Politics
  • Economics & Finance
  • World
  • Arts & Books
  • Life
  • Science
  • Philosophy
  • Subscribe
  • Events
  • Home
  • Magazine

Private view: The good news about sculpture

The Royal Academy’s “Modern British Sculpture” show received appalling reviews. But its courage was overlooked

by Ben Lewis / March 23, 2011 / Leave a comment
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email

Bill Woodrow’s “Electric Fire with Yellow Fish” (1981) paved the way for Hirst and Lucas

Modern British Sculpture Royal Academy, until 7th April

You’ve got to admire the chutzpah. The list of omissions in the Royal Academy’s show “Modern British Sculpture” was staggering. I had to go round it four times to make sure the names I missed weren’t really there. No Anish Kapoor, who had a solo exhibition at the RA in 2009; no Rachel Whiteread, who’s done the Fourth Plinth and Turbine Hall; no Tracey Emin, whose bed and tent are classics of our time; and no Antony Gormley, creator of The Angel of the North, Britain’s most famous public sculpture after Nelson’s column. There was nothing by the Chapman brothers, Richard Deacon or Elizabeth Frink; I’ll admit I missed the Richard Wentworth, but it was only a video.

The curatorial decisions were so bold that the usual reasons given for leaving stuff out—that sculpture is so big, there’s so much of it, that difficult choices have to be made—just don’t wash. Instead, this is something virtually unheard-of in today’s art world: an attempt by the curators—artist Keith Wilson and Penelope Curtis, the new director of Tate Britain—to tell us what the important stuff is and, by implication of omission, what the crap is too.

Newspaper critics have fumed about the gaping holes in what was meant to be a “blockbuster” exhibition. But they could have applauded some of the absences instead, such as Marc Quinn, whose one-liners of frozen flowers and “classical” marbles of people with disabilities are widely considered some of the most supercilious artworks of our age. Or Whiteread, whose entire career is built on versions of one work—Bruce Nauman’s A Cast of the Space under My Chair (1965-68). They might have welcomed the omission of Gormley, whose self-referential casts of his own body provoke sneers from every curator I have ever met.

Here at last was a major exhibition that paid no heed to the art market, media favourites or popular hits. The first room was amazing, with early British modernist sculptures set side-by-side with work from ancient civilisations, some of it as old as 2,000BC. The curators have included little-known but rather brilliant artists like 1960s conceptualist Keith Arnatt and contemporary artist Gary Webb, whose garish work usually looks like it was inspired by the interior of an 1980s nightclub.

Yet, for its…

YOU’VE HIT THE LIMIT

You have now reached your limit of 3 free articles in the last 30 days.
But don’t worry! You can get another 7 articles absolutely free, simply by entering your email address in the box below.

When you register we’ll also send you a free e-book—Writing with punch—which includes some of the finest writing from our archive of 22 years. And we’ll also send you a weekly newsletter with the best new ideas in politics and philosophy of culture, which you can of course unsubscribe from at any time







Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information.

Click to learn more about these interests and how we use your data. You will be able to object to this processing on the next page and in all our communications.

13309534245dee0ee414f1d2.19686175

Go to comments

Related articles

The hidden lives behind the Bauhaus movement
Keith Miller / June 9, 2019
Though often understood as a rigid cult of technocrats, the Bauhaus movement was a...
The best art exhibitions in summer 2019—Antony Gormley and the undead Bauhaus
Emma Crichton-Miller / July 18, 2019
Plus Barry Flanagan at the Ikon Gallery
Share with friends
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email

Comments

No comments yet

Prospect's free newsletter

The big ideas that are shaping our world—straight to your inbox. PLUS a free e-book and 7 articles of your choosing on the Prospect website.

Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information. Click here to learn more about these purposes and how we use your data. You will be able to opt-out of further contact on the next page and in all our communications.

This Month's Magazine

Perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus.

Inside the choice facing voters this General Election—and why the commission that regulates our democracy is struggling to keep up. Plus: Clive James on Wittgenstein, and the real story of Corbynism

Subscribe

Most Popular

  • Read
  • Commented

Is the G7 a dead parrot?

Yes, we should return the Elgin Marbles—and all the other spoils of colonialism

Don't compare Douglas Ford to Donald Trump

Brexiteers hoping that Australia will ride to the rescue are in for a nasty shock

Just how special is human existence? The answer could lie in multiverse theory

Ivan Rogers on Brexit: the worst is yet to come

3 Comments

John le Carré's post-Cold War vision is shot through with a sense of longing

2 Comments

How dare those signed up to hard Brexit lecture Labour on the economy?

2 Comments

Why the London result will decide the next General Election

1 Comments

The precarious success of the national minimum wage

1 Comments

About this author

Ben Lewis
Ben Lewis is a documentary filmmaker and art critic
More by this author

More by Ben Lewis

Private view
April 20, 2011
Private view
December 15, 2010
Private view: finding Trouvé
October 20, 2010

Next Prospect events

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club - David Lammy

    London, 2020-03-19

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club - Jack Shenker

    2020-02-17

  • Details

    Prospect Book Club - Amelia Gentleman

    2020-01-27

See more events

Sponsored features

  • Delivering the UK's invisible infrastructure project

  • Future of Aid: the full report

  • A forest fund for the future

  • A new humanitarianism for the modern age

  • The future of sustainable economic development

PrimeTime

The magazine is owned and supported by the Resolution Group, as part of its not-for-profit, public interest activities.

Follow us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • RSS

Editorial

Editor: Tom Clark
Deputy Editor: Steve Bloomfield
Managing Editor (Arts & Books): Sameer Rahim
Head of Digital: Stephanie Boland
Digital Assistant: Rebecca Liu
Production Editor & Designer: Chris Tilbury
Commissioning Editor: Alex Dean
Creative Director: Mike Turner
US Writer-at-Large: Sam Tanenhaus

Commercial

Commercial Director: Alex Stevenson
Head of Marketing: Paul Mortimer
Marketing and Circulation Executive: Susan Acan
Head of Events: Victoria Jackson
Events Project Manager: Nadine Prospere
Head of Advertising Sales: Adam Kinlan 020 3372 2934
Head of Key Accounts: Scott Smith 020 3372 2972
Senior Account Manager: Patrick Lappin 020 3372 2931

  • Home
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Acceptable Use Policy
© Prospect Publishing Limited
×
Login
Login with your subscriber account:
You need a valid subscription to login.
I am
Remember Me


Forgotten password?

Or enter with social networking:
Login to post comments using social media accounts.
  • With Twitter
  • Connect
  • With Google +
×
Register Now

Register today and access any 7 articles on the Prospect’s website for FREE in the next 30 days..
PLUS find out about the big ideas that will shape our world—with Prospect’s FREE newsletter sent to your inbox. We'll even send you our e-book—Writing with punch—with some of the finest writing from the Prospect archive, at no extra cost!

Not Now, Thanks

Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information.

Click to learn more about these interests and how we use your data. You will be able to object to this processing on the next page and in all our communications.

×
You’ve got full access!

It looks like you are a Prospect subscriber.

Prospect subscribers have full access to all the great content on our website, including our entire archive.

If you do not know your login details, simply close this pop-up and click 'Login' on the black bar at the top of the screen, then click 'Forgotten password?', enter your email address and press 'Submit'. Your password will then be emailed to you.

Thank you for your support of Prospect and we hope that you enjoy everything the site has to offer.

This site uses cookies to improve the user experience. By using this site, you agree that we can set and use these cookies. For more details on the cookies we use and how to manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy.