Box of Broadcasts - A Review
The Art Show – Billy Childish, Confessions of a Sunday Painter
The programme followed artist Billy Childish who is a musician, poet, writer and painter but it focuses primarily on his painting work. He explains through the show his work-ethic and disagreement with how the art industry works and is one of his reasonings for not wanting to pursue himself as a conceptual artist. Although the documentary focuses on his lifestyle as a painter, there are clips of his poetry and musical performances to show his broadness in the arts in general.
I found the program interesting as it does indeed make you think about the art industry, how it is perceived and how it works. It was interesting to see insight to an “outsider” of the art world and how there life has affected their pieces, work ethic and career as a whole. At the beginning of the programme, Childish initially seemed very transparent and set in his ways. I immediately thought he was just stubborn and self-centred. However, by the end, I felt completely different about the artists personality as well as his work. Part of what he was trying to say about his art is that it is perceived in different ways, whether it was intended or not – I think that it is a particularly good reflection of him.
The documentary was very well presented, but I found the clips of him and Tracey Emin, in what appeared to be a TV show, were unnecessary despite her time in his life. I also noticed that on a few occasions, people were mentioned as if I already knew who they were, they could’ve been established a bit more, so I didn’t have to guess or assume.
I would not say mine and Billy Childish have similar styles or thoughts behind the art industry, but I would agree that some of the emotional/ personal thought processes into creating artwork can be quite similar.
Whoever Heard of a Black Artist? Britain’s Hidden Art History
Was there any artist in particular whose work you liked (and why)?
I love the use of colour and depth in Avinash Chandras work. Combining with the size, you can really sense chaos in some of his work. I think it does make you think about his personal perception of what was going on in his life and how racism was a major factor to this.
I was also fascinated by Li Yuan-chia's work and story. The fact that his entire work was just forgotten is mind-boggling to me. His abstract works really get me thinking about the mindset behind them.
Did the programme make you think about art history – who is recorded and who isn’t? How did it make you feel?
Before watching the show I never really noticed or thought about the colour of the artists skin, I always just focused on their artwork. The programme made me quite angry with the art world is it’s not noticed as to how racist the art community truly was. I’ve always thought of the art world as being very open-minded and expressive to all types of people. To find that an entire portion of artists have essentially been invisible for such a long time is soul-destroying to me. From the works shown on the show alone are amazing and it does make you think just how many other pieces are just stored somewhere or potentially even destroyed for no reason. I’m definitely more curious and inclined to search more into this movement and see just what is out there.
Where else might you see issues on representation* within the arts? (*this might include reflection on ethnicity, gender, sexuality or class)
Since watching the show, I’ve started to think more about how much potential prejudice there is in the art world. After some thought, I do believe that to be “a successful artist” in galleries, exhibition, etc there is a lot of discrimination in regards to who you are, and not just a racial factor. I’ve noticed, especially since watching this documentary and another on box of broadcasts, that unless you fit into a certain requirement as such, you won’t be successful in bigger galleries. I’ve noticed even today that a lot of successful artists are white and from more successful areas or come from higher class areas. I have only really heard a handful of northern British artists as opposed to artists from London or surrounding areas.