Ben Long (British Artist)
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Ben Long (born 1978 in
Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...
) is an English contemporary visual artist, known for large-scale public works that use everyday materials such as scaffolding in their construction. He lives and works in London.


Life and work

Long graduated from
Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...
in 2001 where he was taught and influenced by the British artist Darren Lago. His earliest works were loosely associated with the
Street Art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant gr ...
and Urban Art movement which blossomed at the beginning of the 21st century.mutualart.com
His first series of artworks, collectively titled ''The Great Travelling Art Exhibition'', were
graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
-style temporary drawings executed in the dirt gathered on shutters of haulage trucks. In 2002 ''The Great Travelling Art Exhibition'' was shortlisted for the Pizza Express Prospects contemporary drawing prize. Because these artworks were on the back of trucks, Long submitted videos of himself making the drawings and the vehicles filmed being driven around London. These were followed by ''Scaffolding Sculptures'', contemporary monuments constructed from the utilitarian building material. In 2009 the
Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museum ...
commissioned ''Horse Scaffolding Sculpture'' for the Economist Plaza in central London.contemporaryartsociety.org
.
Later in the same year Long's ''Brass Bandstand'' was shortlisted by the
Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...
for the £500,000 Artists Taking The Lead art commission for the North West region of the UK, the prize being later awarded to
Anthony McCall Anthony McCall (born 1946) is a British-born New York based artist known for his ‘solid-light’ installations, a series that he began in 1973 with " Line Describing a Cone," in which a volumetric form composed of projected light slowly evol ...
for his Projected Column.artiststakingthelead.org
.
During the
2012 Cultural Olympiad The 2012 Cultural Olympiad was a programme of cultural events across the United Kingdom that accompanied the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics. It included 500 events nationwide throughout the UK, spread over four years and culmina ...
, UP Projects in partnership with Haringey Council commissioned Long to construct ''Lion Scaffolding Sculpture'' to coincide with day 68 of the Olympic torch relay. Situated on the grounds of Bruce Castle, a former 16th-century manor house, the 9m tall artwork stood from 25 July until 25 September 2012. Speaking about the series Long has stated that: "With each construction I am basically trying to make a contemporary British monument that reflects the change and evolution that our towns and cities are constantly subjected to." In 2014 Long was invited by the
City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...
and Sculpture In the City to exhibit an artwork in the capital city's square mile financial district. As a direct response to
Robert Indiana Robert Indiana (born Robert Clark; September 13, 1928 – May 19, 2018) was an American artist associated with the pop art movement. Indiana is mostly known for his iconic image LOVE which was first created in 1964 in the form of a card. India ...
's ''Love'' sculpture and the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, Long created a ''Scaffolding Sculpture'' mimicking the style of Indiana's ''Love'', but instead constructing the word WORK from the components. The sculpture was erected in front of the entrance of architect
Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...
's landmark building
30 St Mary Axe 30 St Mary Axe, previously known as the Swiss Re Building, is a commercial skyscraper in London's primary financial district, the City of London. Its nickname, The Gherkin, is due to its resemblance to the vegetable. It was completed in Decem ...
, more commonly known as 'the Gherkin', in June 2014, on loan until summer 2015. In August 2014 IVG, one of the two owners of 30 St Mary Axe, filed for insolvency and the building went into receivership. ''Work Scaffolding Sculpture'' was subsequently removed at the request of the receivers of 30 St Mary Axe, having stood there for 9 weeks. In 2015, Long exhibited several works including ''Horse Scaffolding Sculpture'' as part of
Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive ep ...
's five week long
Dismaland Dismaland was a temporary art project organised by street artist Banksy in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. Prepared in secret, the pop-up exhibition at the Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, Tropicana, a disused Lido (swim ...
art show at the former Tropicana Lido in the English sea-side town of
Weston-Super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...
. Solo gallery exhibitions of Long's work include ''Crown Jewels'' (2009) and ''Art Work'' (2008).


References


External links


Official website

Man&Eve

Essay
by Sarah Shalgosky
Contemporary Art Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Ben 1978 births Living people English contemporary artists People from Lancaster, Lancashire