Sept. 16th 2009 at 7:00pmLecture Theater @ The Byam Shaw School of Art, 2 Elthorne Rd. London N19 4AG
Near the Archway Tube Station
Hosted by the MA in Fine Art course at the Byam Shaw School of Art
Featuring Andrew McGettigan, Nick Lambrianou, Mick Finch, David Barrett and Adam Knight.
The question ‘Who is Art for?’ is a question of how artist, artwork and audience communicate with one another and for what purposes. In exploring their relationships the discussion could focus on what connects them – a variety of languages that depend on the setting: University, Studio, Gallery, Museum, etc. The way language and context interact would seem to determine the intimate relationship of the artist to his or her raw materials and on an institutional level the relevance and value of an artist, an artwork or an audience as a cultural or economic force. The product of both of these interactions shapes contemporary art, informing and being informed by the conditions of Modernity. These conditions are continuously shifting and being qualified as post, super, alter, etc.
Our MA show is a threshold for us as young artists moving from our university practice to our professional practice. As such, it is a moment of reflection on every level of what it means to be an artist. The question ‘Who is Art for?’ is deeply implicated in how an artist approaches his or her work.
