The art of immigration
Just what do migrant workers contribute to the UK? It’s a question being asked by Immigration Minister Damian Green, who this week will reveal details of the government’s new immigration policy. But it’s a question also being asked by art gallery Tate Britain. On Tuesday, a new exhibition will open which explores how British art has been shaped by the impact of migrant artists.
As an island nation, it’s perhaps easy to think of ourselves as a homogenised culture that didn’t become subject to external influences until the post-war immigration of the 20th century. But the Migrations exhibition argues that this interchange of ideas and influences had already been going on for centuries beforehand. As curator Lizzie Carey-Thomas said: “What we’re really saying is you can’t consider the history of British art without considering the history of migration and impact it had on art.”
Migrations is an exhibition notable primarily for its theme rather than the work itself – most of which comes from Tate’s permanent collection so may already be familiar to regular visitors. That’s not to say that there aren’t some surprises, primarily the more recent film and video work by artists such as Steve McQueen, Francis Alys and Zineb Sedira. But the show is at its strongest when encouraging us to think again about Tate’s collection – and what, in fact, we understand by the term “British art”.
Avant garde
So the exhibition explores how American artist Whistler introduced abstraction to Britain in the second half of the 19th century. It examines the influence of avant garde artists like Mondrian who came to Britain to escape Nazi persecution during the Second World War. And it reveals that the landscape – often considered that most quintessentially British of art forms – was actually imported to a 17th century Britain still dominated by portraiture by northern european artists like Keirincx and Siberechts.
Of course there are plenty of examples of foreign artists coming to live and work in Britain during the 20th century – from Paula Rego to Anish Kapoor. Many of these were attracted by the openness to cultural influences which has come to define modern Britain and the vibrant community of artists living and working here.
But looking ahead to the future, many people in the art world now believe that the migration of artists into Britain is slowing down. And that as a result, the nature of this dialogue between British art and external influences could be changing.
Foreign influences
Over the last decade, many of the best-known British artists – such as Tacita Dean, Douglas Gordon and Susan Philipsz – have left the UK to work in cities like Berlin. They’ve been followed by waves of younger artists attracted by cheap rents and studio space, and what’s becoming a burgeoning community of artists.
But of course this doesn’t mean that the interchange of ideas between British and foreign artists has slowed down. In an increasingly globalised art market, and with international communication now easier than ever, British art continues to be shaped by foreign influences.
The exhibition at Tate Britain ends with Static, a film of that icon of immigration the Statue of Liberty, by Steve McQueen. McQueen lives and works in Amsterdam, has galleries in London, Paris and New York, and exhibits around the world – perhaps challenging our very understanding of what it means to be a British artist.
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With the concept of ‘Cyber Neo Tribalism’ the British label becomes one to bookmark other artists in reference to rather than define particular era like ‘Brit Art’ once did.
The thing that really validates ‘British Art’ in terms of critique is the way historic and world class organisations have been set up to support and realise the value of the multi-faceted cultural output of the British Isles. This may move on to Amsterdam, Cannes, L.A., Australia, Moscow or Brazil. The important part is the recognition and fostering of talent that goes beyond patriotism or class and falls into a category of it’s own. A lotus flower in a mountain blooms for itself. In other words all art is as global as the economy, infrastructure, publishing network and criticism that either dismisses or supports it. It’s not football. It’s art. Nobody wins but we can all enjoy it. We even have are own art olympics with the Turner Prize but it’s not a competitive sport. Critique, criticism and academia are the gift and curse of British Art. Only the really individual creatives ever make a big mark on the world. They all have passports…
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