21/10/13 Art as a mirror of society?

- The Art Newspaper

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Art as a mirror of society?
Why sometimes its politic to leave politics at the art-fair door
By Melanie Gerlis. From Frieze daily edition
Published online: 16 October 2013
A reflection of our times: Elmgreen & Dragset in the Frieze sculpture park. Photo:
David Owens
Visitors to todays opening of Frieze London, ready for an afternoon of VIP schmoozing and (perhaps)
art buying, may not notice the more activist art environment on the fringes of the fair and beyond.
Although this years wider aisles and pristine booths are designed to make the many works on offer look
easier on the eye, the Frieze talks and projects around the fair are more uncomfortable prospects. The
talks, which are co-ordinated by the Frieze Foundation and Frieze magazine rather than the fair, deal
with issues such as gay rights (Sexuality, Politics and Protest, 18 October, 1.30pm), racial equality
(John Akomfrah, the artist and co-founder of the Black Audio Film Collective, leads a talk on 19 October,
1.30pm) and disability rights (Jrme Bel discusses his Disabled Theater performance piece on 20
October, 1pm).
Frieze Projects, organised by Nicola Lees, even takes into account therights of children (the Emdash
Award winner, Pilvi Takala, has given the 10,000 prize, minus project expenses, to a committee of
children aged eight to 12 to spend). The Brazilian artist Rivane Neuenschwanders participatory project
addresses the pertinent issue of surveillance.
This is in keeping with the many biennials on show around the world that are reflecting an increasingly
politicised international environment. At the 13th Istanbul Biennial (until 20 October), the concept of
public space as a political forum, in relation to the countrys ongoing turmoil, is a central tenet, according
to its curator, Fulya Erdemci. The fourth Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art (until 31 January
2014) directly addresses the economic upheavals and crises of national identity facing the
Mediterranean region.
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Biting the hand
Reflecting complex social issues, political situations and personal causes is important to many artists,
but confrontational works are commercially difficult, so they are hard to find on the stands at Frieze
London.
Looking for the voice of protest in an art fair might seem strange, irrelevant and impossible, says the
artist Bob and Roberta Smith, whose recent public protests have taken on art-related issues such as
education. Jennifer Kabat, a writer who is chairing the Sexuality, Politics and Protest talk at Frieze,
says: Collectors dont have the same relationship with the issues as artists. There is and has historically
been a gap between them: collectors are not necessarily dying gay men. Plus, death, loss and injustice
can make for difficult work.
Activism, more overt than its gentler political cousin, is not only a visualhard sell; it is also difficult to box
into a recognisable art-world framework, given that processes such as intervention and site-specific
interruption are the norm. For political works, too, the profile of some of the art markets newer collectors
has an impact. Tastes in the Middle East, China and Russia are notoriously conservative and prohibitive
why bite the hand that feeds you?
In addition, one of the biggest political issues in the Western, developed world is the increasing gap
between the wealthy and the rest. This involves the so-called one-percenters, who are emphatic
participants in moneyed hobbies such as art collecting. The art market itself has become the focus of
artists activism, notably through movements such as Occupy, and in the past week, some press articles
have questioned the relevance of fairs such as Frieze, given the struggles in the world outside. There
is, of course, a sensitivity about the rich getting richer, particularly in London, but you cant accuse a
symptom of being the cause, says Matthew Slotover, Frieze Londons co-director.
What should art be?
Its not just a question of taste; the issue of artists responsibility to society also raises the long-standing
debate over the function of art. While there is an arguably elitist view that art that simply looks good
cannot be meaningful, there is also a valid argument that politics does not always suit an artistic
medium. Last years seventh Berlin Biennale was criticised for having plenty of social and political
activism but not enough art. It is all very noble having a political theme in a work, but, ultimately, how the
work looks is far more important, says the London-basedinvestment banker and collector Mervyn
Metcalf, who buys work by artists including Dan Colen and Ryan McGinley. If you feel strongly about a
charity or cause, isnt it better to donate rather than buy a piece of art that you otherwise wouldnt
collect?
There is also, as ever, a broad range of responses within the definition of political, and many
collectible artists are addressing issues, if not through aggressive means. Satire has certainly crept into
the Frieze tent and sculpture park this year. Elmgreen & Dragsets But Im on the Guest List, Too!, 2012
(FL, S3, through Victoria Miro, FL, F5, priced at 95,000)a mirrored VIP door in the sculpture park
that had its own bouncer when it was shown at the Liverpool Biennial last yearraises an arch eyebrow
at the cocooned art-fair mentality. Another art fair in-joke is provided by the artist Mark Flood at Peres
Projects (E10): his practice of subverting and recontextualising corporate logos takes a dig at the Frieze
fairs main sponsor, Deutsche Bank, in Deutsche 96, 2013 (around $70,000).
Feminism seems to be one of the more acceptable areas of protest in contemporary art: the British
collector David Roberts owns work by the artists Ellen Gallagher and Jenny Holzer. Other historical
movements that had their strongest impact in the past but still resonate today give Frieze London an
edge rather than an out-and-out confrontational face. Wilkinson Gallery (FL, C2) has brought Untitled,
1986 (12,000), a Black Painting by the film-maker and Aids activist Derek Jarman.
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The effects are contained in the context of an art fair, however, even within the context of a booth.
Jarmans piece is one of many on Wilkinsons stand, with the gallery reserving the big impact of his
works for a show in its East End gallery (Derek Jarman: Black Paintings, until 1 December). Sadie
Coles HQ (FL, D4) and Kurimanzutto (FL, D8) have brought recent works by Sarah Lucas, but the full
effect of her feminism is felt in her exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery (until 15 December). The works
by Sandra Gamarra (Genesis 1:26, 2013, set of 12 priced at 24,000) at Galera Juana de Aizpuru
(FL, G6), in which the artist has oil-painted over the images that accompany unsettling news reports, are
intensely political, but they are unlikely to catch the fair-goers eye anywhere near as much as Jeff
Koonss super-sized kitten peering out of a huge, brightly coloured sock at Gagosian Gallery (FL, C13).
Whether or not protest belongs in an art fair, the tension is currently underpinning critical views of the
art market. The artist Grayson Perrys first of four Reith lectures for the BBC, which was broadcast
yesterday, questioned the barriers to entry that the cost of art brings. Although responsibility for the
worlds problems cannot be laid at the door of the art market, its participants are arguably willing
volunteers (although many at Frieze this week say they welcome the debate). Bob and Roberta Smith
says: The onus is on the gatekeepers and funders of artmuseum directors, art-fair organisers,
curators and indeed artiststo get rid of the barriers to understanding that high prices and exclusivity
bring.