Page 51 - Studio International - January 1970

The John Moores Liverpool exhibition was group of Ecole de Paris paintings, restricted sets the climate, or predicts the climate of
launched as a biennial in the autumn of 1957. to 51 x 38 in. (approx.), selected by Raymond what is to come. In 1961, for instance, the
Its aims as stated in the first and subsequent Cogniat. The French paintings were also year when the first prize went to Henry
catalogues were: eligible for prizes and the French critic Andre Mundy, I saw for the first time the works of
1) to give Merseyside the chance to see an Chastel was on the jury. David Hockney, Peter Phillips, Norman
exhibition of painting and sculpture embrac- The third biennial separated sculpture from Toynton and Allen Jones. With Kitaj and
ing the best and most vital work being done painting, and for the first time each artist was Peter Blake as prizewinners the scene was set
throughout the country; allowed to submit only one work; hitherto it for a new interest in figuration of a very
2) to encourage contemporary artists, parti- had been two. The French section was specific kind. Later, labelled Pop Art, this
cularly the young and progressive. dropped. movement was to bridge the gap between
Four years later, at a critics' lunch, following The fourth biennial involved several changes. fine art and mass media in a way the signifi-
the press view (the formal lunches were later Purchase prizes which had been abandoned cance of which only became apparent later.
abandoned), Mr Moores was asked why he were re-established. Distinguished British No other survey exhibition has been so clearly
insisted on having such an important exhibi- artists were once again asked to contribute a landmark in setting the scene.
tion in Liverpool. He was also asked why their work hors contours. The sculpture section The following biennial was remarkable for a
could not a single critic, instead of a jury, was abandoned. large number of abstract, chromatic and Op
select all the works to give the exhibition a At the fifth biennial the jury was reduced paintings, with Bridget Riley as one of the
greater stylistic coherence. Mr Moores wisely from five to three, with Clement Greenberg prize winners. The 1965 show was once more
resisted the first proposal and ignored the in the chair. Hitherto, with the exception of dominated by intensely coloured abstracts
second. Chastel, all the jury members had been and the use of the stained canvas technique.
During the fourteen years of its life, the British. Greenberg's predilections for what, to In the latter category John Walker's Anguish
exhibition has acquired its own impetus, and an English critic, might have seemed idio- was awarded a prize. Two years later emerged
with the inevitability of anything that is syncratic and perverse, surprised not only his a tendency towards the geometric and more
done successfully and regularly, has become colleagues, but the artists. Expected to support formal styles, while the current one demon-
an institution. What has made this biennial the experimental and the abstract, Greenberg strates no unified trend whatever. It cele-
event into an institution is the fact that artists favoured the small, green, representational brates rather an entire range of individual
take it seriously—seriously enough for up to landscapes, finding them to be the more un- approaches.
3000 of them each time to submit, at their pretentious and genuine contributions to the There is a very good underlying reason for
own expense, a work knowing full well that British scene. this. The painting, the hanging object, pro-
no more than 150 are likely finally to be The sixth biennial was a celebration. With a truding no more than 6 in. from the wall, no
shown. decade of achievement behind them, Liver- longer belongs to new trends. Newness no
Until the current show, a number of eminent pool, Mr Moores, the Walker Art Gallery and longer relates to subject matter which can be
artists were invited to send in works which the libraries, museums and Arts Committee realized in painting, but to media. It is the
were eligible for prizes together with the warmly and justifiably congratulated them- media that give substance to kinetic, light,
selected works. This was done obviously to selves. technological, electronic, expendable, earth
make sure that there would be a substantial The seventh biennial is on now. For the first and idea art. Today, many artists attempt to
body of good work, no matter what was or was time the prize was split between two artists, affect the fabric of life by dealing with real
not sent in for selection. and the jury, with the exception of the chair- life situations through the use of objects,
During the first biennial there were twenty- man, was composed entirely of artists. The techniques and locations which are palpably
three prizes in all, ranging from £25 to prize money was raised from £4000 to £6500. present and concrete rather than by making
purchase prizes of £500, £750 and £1000. Another significant innovation was mentioned metaphors on the subjects which they embody.
The second exhibition made an attempt to in the conditions of entry; each artist could John Moores is about painting, even though
incorporate art from abroad, and apart from submit one work—preferably new—in oil, a degree of relief is permitted. Painting may
British painting and sculpture, there was a emulsion, or other modern technique, designed never again be in the forefront of art's newest
to hang on a wall and not project more than six domain; it may never be representative of
inches. Sculpture, kinetics, watercolours and the search for the extensions of creative, visual
prints were excluded. expression, and one day it may even be rele-
The Walker Art Gallery
The catalogue format was changed after the gated to the basement of the visual arts. It
2 will, however, always be with us. Unlike the
The Jury— (left to right) Robyn Denny, William Scott, first exhibition, and once again for the cur-
Ron Kitaj, Anthony Hill, Howard Hodgkin, rent show, to a five-inch square with a silver more volatile movements which increasingly
Hugh Scrutton
cover and up-to-date typographical design. concern themselves with process rather than
3 result, idea rather than union of form and
Critics— (left to right) Norbert Lynton, James Burr, Whereas the only works illustrated until this
Nigel Gosling, Paul Overy, T.W.Oliver, Guy Brett, year were those of the prize winners, the content, and tangible realism and objectivity
John Gainsborough, Richard Cork, Alistair Gordon,
Jasia Reichardt, Edward Lucie-Smith current catalogue shows a selection of other rather than make-believe, painting will re-
works too. All these facts go to show that the main, come what may, the foundation of the
4
Mr John Moores with Richard Hamilton's first prize John Moores Liverpool exhibition is a venture entire edifice. I hope that John Moores
Toaster
that has been rethought and reconsidered on Liverpool exhibition will continue to show
5
Mary Martin's first prize Cross every occasion. The arrangements, conditions, paintings even though other types of art may
selection, results, have never (gratefully) been seem more exciting at a given moment. John
6
Tom Phillips' prize winning Thesis as Object: with perfect, so we can be assured that the John Moores is an institution because the artists,
Scholarly Apparatus
Moores is very much alive and happily still in through their support, have decreed that it
7
David Troostwyk's prize-winning Elim Liverpool. should be so. It would be unfair and unwise
John Moores Liverpool exhibition provides to force the delicate balance of something so
8
Rasheed Araeen's prize-winning BOO/69 one of those rare opportunities to see a few utterly successful and established to turn to
9 very good works by known artists, and often the uncertain paths of whatever the latest
Robert Owen's prize-winning Four x Four
exceptional works by artists who are com- trends may be. q
10
Peter Kinley's prize-winning Landscape with Clouds pletely unknown. In some ways this biennial JASIA REICHARDT