The New Climate 1969-72

This keywork essay is included in the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, Conceptual Art in Britain 1964-79 held at Tate Britain, London 12 April - 29 August 2016. "The Arts Council’s 1972 exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, The New Art, was the first museum survey of new art practices by British artists. Anne Seymour, the exhibition organiser, describes how although many of them already had an international reputation, they were little known at home, and so the situation was ‘crying out for attention’. The New Art occurred at the same time as Documenta 5 in Kassel, and a number of artists were included in both – Art & Language for example, showed Index 1972in Documenta and a second version, Index 2, in The New Art. British artists – Keith Arnatt, Art & Language, Barry Flanagan, John Latham, Richard Long and Bruce McLean, to name a few – were included in group exhibitions in museums in Europe and New York: for instance, Op Losse Schroeven 1969 at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam; When Attitudes Become Form at the Kunsthalle, Bern also 1969; Conceptual Art, Arte Povera, Land Art at the Galleria Civica D’Arte Moderna, Turin 1970, and Conceptual Art and Conceptual Aspects 1970 at the New York Cultural Center, just before Information, MOMA’s broader exhibition of new practices. And so, by the time ‘the new art’ had received official backing it was part of the territory of recognisable art practices; the paradigm shift had already occurred during the previous few years in Britain, Europe and the USA. The role played by art magazines in the distribution of information and ideas, as well as the circulation of photographs of new work, cannot be underestimated. Studio International was key. It presented new practices and ideas, helped establish many artists’ reputations and had a reach that extended beyond the UK. In providing a platform for artists, the magazine became as significant a venue as the gallery or museum. This was particularly notable with conceptual art practices, with work made specifically for distribution through publication. The magazine was also a vehicle for exhibition catalogues, and this multiple and innovative use made it a collaborator with artists, as well as fulfilling its conventional role of providing critical commentary. The assistant editor Charles Harrison taught part-time at St Martins, and the magazine commissioned artists’ pages, which could be used as the artist wished. Gilbert & George’s ‘magazine sculpture’ formed part of their contribution in May 1970. The double-page spread featured a black-and-white portrait photograph of George on the left, Gilbert on the right, with paper cut-outs of letters spelling ‘George the cunt’ and ‘Gilbert the shit’ pinned to their respective clothing. The offending words were crudely censored deliberately by editor Peter Townsend, and the magazine sculpture had been first shown at Robert Fraser Gallery in 1969 for just half an hour to avoid the censor...