Page 23 - Studio International - October 1967

£5,700,000 previous year), of which approxi- renewed. Thus it cannot bring full commit- individual applicant. This quite obviously is
mately £313,000 (£218,000) is apportioned ment to any idea or project because there are not practicable, and therefore the system
to the visual arts in England, Scotland and too many forces which have to be balanced. could well be revised.
Wales. A further £152,000 (101,000) goes These are the inherent pitfalls of a policy But these are details. One can ponder over
to housing the arts, and a separate provision discharged in a democratic manner with them when the most fundamental issue has
is made for festivals. Of the £313,000, public money; they are as much a part of the somehow been resolved. The vital issue today
approximately £140,000 is spent on Arts organizational nature of the Council as the is to eradicate the association between art and
Council exhibitions (England only), and the letters `a"r"t"s' are inherent in 'arts'. beneficence which smacks of the association
rest is divided between exhibitions in Scotland Within the system as it is, perhaps the only between culture and spare time. What must
and Wales, support for public commissions, change that might constitute an improvement be realized, and above all be seen to be
purchase awards, sabbatical grants, discre- is a closer and a more direct relationship realized, is that art is a necessity, patronage
tionary awards, art films and other projects. between the Arts Council and the artists whom an anachronism and the two no longer go
For 1966-7, sabbatical grants which allow it is, or might be, helping. The artist whose together. Could not the last word in the
artists to give up teaching for a period and appeal for a grant (via a sponsor of acknow- description of the ways in which the govern-
continue their own work, amounted to ledged judgment) is rejected, is not given an ment supports the arts, i.e. through education,
£4,700 and went to : Robert C Clatworthy, opportunity to argue and defend his case. The preservation and patronage, be changed to
Garth Evans, Andrew Forge, Nicholas Hors- Art Panel responsible for the decision would `promotion', or 'advancement', or 'further-
field, Denis Mitchell, Yolanda Sonnabend have to do as much as a week's homework ance', or—best of all— 'championship' ? Mc-
and William Townsend. Purchase awards before each committee meeting, in order to be Luhan, at least, would see this as the first step
totalling £4,600 went to Elinor Bellingham absolutely familiar with the position of every towards a new policy.
Smith, Mark Boyle, Prunella Clough, Hubert
Dalwood, Sheila Fell, Terry Frost, Derrick
Greaves, Anthony Gross, Howard Hodgkin,
Robert Law, James Tower and Ken Turner.
The awards committee, which is selected by Confronting city living: 'events' in Holland
the Art Panel, consists of: Sir John Witt
(chairman), Robin Darwin, William Cold-
stream, Kenneth Armitage, Norman Reid, In August and September a group called 'Sigma CONTINUOUS DRAWING
Jeremy Rees and Peter Bird. Projekten' put on in Amsterdam and Rotterdam a
Despite the facts and figures which are pub- programme of events which attempted to London—Amsterdam—Rotterdam.
lished and which demonstrate clearly enough `complement/confront the everyday patterns of city living'.
the Arts Council's standpoint, the Council These events were financed by the city and arts The drawing emerges again from the London
finds itself in the very ambiguous situation of councils of the two cities, and several Dutch and sewerage system after having ended there in
having to maintain a defensive position. On British artists were involved, among them John December 1966. The following charts the
the one hand it has to justify to the public at Latham and Graham Stevens. course of the drawing after this emergence :
large the expenditure of funds on what to The following synopses were issued by the group —across the pavement and into a taxi;
many appear to be unnecessary trivia. The and describe two then-impending events, the first —as the cab drives to London airport the
1965-6 report apologetically states that 'the mounted jointly by Tjebbe van Tijen, co-ordinator drawing continues inside it and over the
young men and women of today who care for of the group, and Jeffrey Shaw, the second mounted driver ;
the arts are strongly predisposed to be inter- by van Tijen alone. —at the airport the drawing emerges from the
ested in work which is not only of the highest THE HOUSE cab, then goes through the customs and into
quality, but essentially contemporary in idiom an aeroplane bound for Schiphol;
and aim, and therefore "difficult" '. The Arts `The House' is a continuous activity utilizing — during the journey it continues to grow over
Council also has to defend its extensive sup- only the outside surface of a house in Amster- some of the passengers;
port for a small number of individuals whose dam. The following is the basic programme —on arrival at Schiphol the drawing con-
qualifications might be questioned by those which will occur without any previous tinues over the tarmac and into a bus bound
whose acquaintance with the field of art is announcement : for Amsterdam Central;
somewhat tenuous. On the other hand those (i) Initial white period : during one evening —once in Amsterdam it continues along the
intimately involved with the arts also question the whole house painted a monochrome street, over the walls of the Stedelijk Museum
and criticize the manner in which the Arts white. Shadow plays will take place at and then disappears in a gutter outside the
Council distributes the available funds. In the windows during this phase. museum;
effect the Arts Council suffers from the virtues (ii) Monochrome colour periods one and —it will reappear from gutter wells all over
of being a democratic organization. two : the whole house painted one the town and some parts will develop in the
Its committee of experts may find rational colour and then, after some days, another. direction of Rotterdam;
solutions to discharging their responsibilities (iii) Paper period and event : the house —on arriving in Rotterdam in the morning, it
and making their assessments, but as is the covered entirely with paper. Polythene will continue through the Lijnbaan shopping
case invariably with all juries and all com- tubing secreted beneath the paper will centre and in the evening to the Schouwburg-
mittees there is a tendency towards a com- be inflated, tearing and bursting out of plein ;
promise. What this means here is that the the wrapping and then stretching into —here the CORPOCINEMATIC monument
Arts Council is unlikely to be in a position to the street. will be inflated for the first time and by
support anything of unprecedented origin- (iv) The demolition of the house. projecting film of the continuous drawings the
ality because there are no established references Other phenomena taking place during this sequence begun in London will in effect 'go
to which it could take recourse and because activation include : (a) audio dramatic situa- up in smoke'.
the outcome would carry no guarantees what- tions involving disparate disillusionary sounds The drawings will be executed by pupils of
ever. Nor does the Arts Council generally broadcast from within the house; (b) various an art school who have followed a corres-
support any project to the full extent requested, emergences from the apertures of the building pondence and practical course in the system
although if the beginnings of the venture are (smoke, foam, pigeons, etc.) ; (c) concerts `continuous drawings for beginners' designed
promising the application for funds can be from within the house with the windows open. by T. van Tijen.