Stuckist Demonstrations
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Stuckist demonstrations since 2000 have been a key part of the
Stuckist Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson (artist), Charles Thomson to promote Figurative art, figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and abroad. Their primary agenda is the promotion of figurative painting and opposition to conceptual art. Their demonstrations are particularly associated with the
Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
at
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...
(sometimes dressed as clowns to mock the museum), but have also been carried out at other venues, including
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and the Saatchi Gallery. There have also been other protests in the
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by US Stuckists, and there have been Stuckist events against the
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in 2003. They have received extensive media coverage for these events both in the UK and internationally, and become possible suspects for any London art protests, as in
Matthew Collings Matthew Collings (born 1955) is a British art critic, writer, broadcaster, and artist. He is married to Emma Biggs, with whom he collaborates on art works. Education Born in London in 1955, Collings studied at Byam Shaw School of Art, and Golds ...
' description of the opening of
Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...
in 2000: "Guilt-free art lovers crossed picket lines put up by envious artist-outsiders. They didn't know who was protesting out there. Maybe it was the Stuckists."Collings, Matthew (2001). ''Art Crazy Nation'', page 16, 21 Publishing Ltd. There is, however, no mention of any such demonstration on the Stuckism website.Stuckism International official site
Retrieved 27 March 2006
Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate gallery, has recognised the demonstrations as a contribution to artistic debate,"Tate rejects £500,000 gift from 'unoriginal' Stuckists", The Times, 28 July 2005
Retrieved 28 March 2006
and the Tate archive contains material from the demonstrations,Nordland, Rod
"You call that art?"
''
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'', 4 October 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
which are now a staple feature of the
Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
process.Culture24 staff
"Stuckists launch their annual protest against the Turner Prize at Tate Britain"
Culture24, 29 September 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2009.


The Stuckists

The Stuckists were founded in 1999 by
Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Founding Father of the United States and secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson prepared the Journals of the ...
and
Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper; 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer, and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing, and visual art. He has ...
to promote figurative painting and oppose conceptual art. Thomson derived the name of the group from an insult by
Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...
to her ex-boyfriend Childish that he was "stuck". The original group of 13 artists has now grown to an international movement of 183 groups in 44 countries, as of November 2008. (Childish left the group in 2001.)


Clowns at the Tate

The Stuckists have demonstrated annually at
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...
on the occasion of the
Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
since 2000, and have been featured extensively in the media for their appearances. The demonstrations have adopted a variety of themes to make their point, which is simply that the prize is named after a famous painter, but painting is neglected by it in favour of other media. Their Turner Prize manifesto comments: "The only person who wouldn't be in danger of winning the Turner Prize is Turner."Stuckists Turner Prize Manifesto
Retrieved 27 March 2006
This is a leaflet they have handed out to the public and prize ceremony guests. Although they have always been outside the building during the actual prize ceremony, they have, on two occasions, been mentioned by the guest of honour on live TV, just before the announcement of the winner—by Sir Peter Blake in 2003 and by Culture Minister,
David Lammy David Lindon Lammy FRSA (born 19 July 1972) is a British politician who has served as Foreign Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenham since 2000. Lammy previously held vario ...
in 2005."Archive of demos" www.stuckism.com
Retrieved 22 March 2006


2000

The first Stuckist demonstration took place outside Tate Britain on Turner Prize day, 28 November 2000. The group took care to work within the regulations in order to subvert them and ridicule the institution. They were dressed as clowns, and had obtained advance permission to enter the museum in this costume. They announced on their web site (and in the London
Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
):"Send in the Clowns for Turner", ''Evening Standard'', 16 October 2000.
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...
's godmother, the late Margaret Walsh, announced the "Art Clown of the Year" for "outstanding idiocy in the visual arts" was
Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi ( ; ; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest advertising agency in the 19 ...
, the prize being a custard pie, which the winner was expected to purchase and administer on themselves."Clowns at the Tate" in "A Stuckist on Stuckism", stuckism.com
Retrieved 27 March 2006
This award continued to be made in subsequent years. They then paraded outside
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...
in clown costumes, walked into the museum and around the exhibition itself. To coincide with the Tate's show, they also staged their own concurrent show ''The Real Turner Prize Show'' with simultaneous shows of the same name in Germany and Australia. ''The Guardian'' announced the winner of the real Turner Prize with the headline "Turner Winner Riles the Stuckists"."Turner Winner Riles the Stuckists", The Guardian, 29 November 2000
Retrieved 26 March 2000


2001

There was a demonstration in ordinary clothes at the Prize press launch on 6 November. ''
The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
'' said, "In certain respects the Turner Prize never changes: art fleetingly makes the front pages; the dreary Stuckists protest outside the Tate and the winner gets a cheque for 20 grand.""The critics: Visual art - Big thrills in the broom cupboard", ''
The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
'', 11 November 2001.
Another demonstration took place on the Prize ceremony day, 9 December: this reached a worldwide TV audience, when it was syndicated by
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
."Turner Prize demo 2001"
stuckism.com. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
The work of one nominee, Martin Creed, was an empty room, where the lights went on and off every five seconds. The demonstrators dressed in clown costume and shone torches in protest.
Ekow Eshun Ekow Eshun (born 27 May 1968) is a British writer, journalist, broadcaster, and curator. Eshun rose to prominence as a trailblazer in British culture. He was the first Black editor of a major magazine in the UK (''Arena'' Magazine in 1997) and ...
wrote, "if scandal equated directly to success then this year's winners should probably be the Stuckists, the ragged band of artist malcontents who've turned their annual placard-waving anti-Turner protest outside the Tate into a kind of art event of their own that now generates press attention from around the world." The Stuckists gave their "Art Clown of the Year Award" to Sir Nicholas Serota. Other nominees were
Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi ( ; ; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest advertising agency in the 19 ...
(the winner in 2000),
Norman Rosenthal Sir Norman Rosenthal (born 8 November 1944) is a British independent curator and art historian. From 1970 to 1974 he was Exhibitions Officer at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. In 1974 he became a curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art ...
and Sarah Kent.


2002

There was a demonstration at the Turner Prize press launch on 29 October, and one in clown costume on the prize day, 8 December. The "Art Clown of the Year Award" was given to Serota again, with the commendation, "The judges were extremely impressed by Sir Nicholas's ability to create a Turner Prize show which was even worse than last year's", and announced in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' with the headline: "A custard pie for Serota as Turner Prize winner named.""A custard pie for Serota as Turner Prize winner named", The Daily Telegraph, 9 December 2002
Retrieved 27 March 2006
Meanwhile, the
Stuckism International Gallery The Stuckism International Gallery was the gallery of the Stuckism, Stuckist art movement. It was open from 2002 to 2005 in Shoreditch, and was run by Charles Thomson (artist), Charles Thomson, the co-founder of Stuckism. It was launched by a p ...
staged ''The Real Turner Prize Show 2002''.


2003

In 2003, the Stuckists displayed two blow-up sex dolls to parody Jake and Dinos Chapman's bronze (painted) sculpture modelled on one."Turner Prize Goes to Perry – and Claire", The Guardian, 8 December 2003
Retrieved 22 March 2006
As guests, including
Jay Jopling Jeremy Michael "Jay" Jopling (born June 1963) is an English art dealer and gallerist. He is the founder of White Cube. Early life Jeremy Michael Jopling is the son of Michael Jopling, Michael Jopling, Baron Jopling, a Conservative Party (UK), ...
,
Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...
,
Victoria Miro Victoria Marion Miro (born 1 July 1945) is a British art dealer, "one of the grandes dames of the Young British Artists, Britart scene"Husband, Stuart"Go see... the Victoria Miro gallery" ''The Observer'', 3 December 2000. Retrieved 27 September 2 ...
and Jake Chapman, arrived, they were greeted with the announcement, "Turner Prize preview—see the original here and the copy inside." Sarah Kent, art editor of Time Out, commented, "Fucking Stuckists... yes, you can quote me." Inside Tate Britain, on live television, Serota introduced Sir Peter Blake, who before he announced the winner, started his speech: "Thank you very much Nick. I'm quite surprised to be here tonight, because two days ago I had a phone call asking if I would be a judge for the Not the Turner Prize. And two years ago I was asked by the Stuckists to dress as a clown and come and be on the steps outside, so I am thrilled and slightly surprised to be here." There were cheers from the guests.


2004

There were two Stuckist demonstrations, one at the press launch on 19 October and one at the prize-giving day on 6 December. On 10 October,
Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi ( ; ; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest advertising agency in the 19 ...
had been quoted in the press as saying there were not enough painters in the Prize—"For the last 10 years, only five of the 40 Turner Prize artists have been pure painters." "Saatchi's Latest Shock for the Art World Is – Painting", The Daily Telegraph, 10 October 2004
Retrieved 27 March 2006
The Stuckists turned this to their advantage with placards such as: "Charles Saatchi & Stuckists v the Tate" and "No painters in the Turner Prize for the last 4 years!" The Turner show itself was characterised by video and computer imagery, including a virtual tour of one of
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
's former residences. Thomson was quoted by the BBC website: "A lot of the stuff this year would be suitable for a Channel 4 documentary. There is no need for this to be in the Tate gallery when television does exactly the same thing.""Light at the end of the Turner Show", BBC News Online, 19 October 2004
/ref> To bring their point home, the Stuckists handed out a leaflet which read, with the mock tone of officialdom: "We apologise for the lack of art in this year's Turner Prize. As an alternative, you will find a display of enthusiasts' television programmes and computer games."
Retrieved 27 March 2006
They also announced:


2005

The Stuckists demonstrated outside the
Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
on 6 December 2005 against the Tate's purchase of its trustee, Chris Ofili's work, ''The Upper Room''. They displayed placards with slogans such as "£25,000 Turner Prize, £705,000 Trustee Prize", and wore monkey and elephant masks, referring to the monkeys Ofili had painted in his work, as well as the trademark balls of elephant dung it was propped on."Shed Wins $58,000 Art Prize", Sydney Morning Herald 6 December 2005 (a Reuters syndicated report)
Retrieved 28 March 2006
The demonstrators were approached by Sir Nicholas Serota, and the atmosphere was tense, according to Thomson: "I thought he was going to explode ... I looked at his face and I thought, this guy's going to lose it and hit me, or he's going to burst into tears.""How Ageing Art Punks Got Stuck into Tate's Serota", The Observer, 11 December 2005
Retrieved 23 March 2006
Andrew Marr Andrew William Stevenson Marr (born 31 July 1959) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and presenter. Beginning his career as a political commentator at ''The Scotsman,'' he subsequently edited ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to ...
, a guest at the evening Prize reception, commented, "When they picketed us, the Stuckists seemed to me affable and intelligent people", although he strongly disagreed with them over Ofili's work.Notebook by Andrew Marr (2nd item), The Daily Telegraph, 7 December 2005
Retrieved 24 March 2006
That evening in front of guests at the award ceremony in what Marr described as a "moment of rare passion" and an "unusual, possibly unprecedented" move, Serota spoke out with "an angry defence" of the purchase, saying, "I defy anybody who has actually taken the time and trouble to see the work not to agree with the trustees' decision to acquire this most extraordinary and important piece of work."
Retrieved 24 March 2006
Following this, David Lammy, the Culture Minister, made a brief speech before presenting the award, commenting, "Every year, the Turner Prize makes contemporary art the talk of the airwaves ... Stuckists threaten never to paint again",
Retrieved 28 March 2006
(although there is no evidence they had ever made such a statement). The Stuckists were included in reports on the Prize by the four UK broadsheets and in a Reuters syndication internationally, where Thomson commented, "The Tate is run by a self-serving clique who hide behind secretiveness" and "The real prize at the Tate is becoming a trustee. It's worth far more money." The winner,
Simon Starling Simon Starling (born 1967) is an English Neo-conceptual art, conceptual artist and won the Turner Prize in 2005. Early life Simon Starling was born in 1967 in Epsom, Surrey. He studied photography and art at Maidstone College of Art from 1986 to ...
had converted a shed into a boat and back again; ''The Times'' quoted Thomson that "The Turner should be renamed the B&Q diy prize.""One Man and His Boat Sail into a Storm over the Turner", The Times, 6 December 2006
Retrieved 28 March 2006


2006

The Stuckists handed Sir Nicholas Serota a demonstration leaflet with a Turner Prize "health warning" on one side (claiming that "the exhibits may cause drowsiness or headaches") and Thomson's painting of him on the other. He held it up and said, "Can't you make another image?"
Retrieved 2008-04-05
Tate chairman Paul Myners informed demonstrating artist, John Bourne, "We are grateful for the extra publicity the Stuckists have given the Tate". The Stuckists picketed the 2006 ceremony with placards bearing the slogan 'Is It All A Fix?', a quote from Turner judge
Lynn Barber Lynn Barber (born 22 May 1944) is a British journalist who has worked for many publications, including ''The Sunday Times''. Early life Barber was born in Bagshot and attended Lady Eleanor Holles School in southwest London. While she was stud ...
, who had broken with convention by writing about the judging process in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
''.Barber, Lynn (200
"My Turner's over. Phew!
''The Observer, 10 December 2006. Accessed 16 January 2007
She encountered the demonstrators, whilst going outside from the judging to have a cigarette, afterwards saying she was horrified to see her words displayed: "The words were taken completely out of context (I dread to think how often celebs have said that to me in interviews, and how often I have disbelieved them) but now I am stuck with being a hero of the Stuckist tendency. I scuttled back into the Tate and survived three hours without nicotine rather than risk encountering them again. Thomson's quote that winner Tomma Abts' work resembled "doodles done by a lobotomised computer" appeared in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' and in media abroad.


2007

The Stuckists announced that they were not demonstrating for the first time since 2000, because of "the lameness of this year’s show, which does not merit the accolade of the traditional demo". They criticised the "recycling" of nominees as being laziness by the jury (two of the four had been nominated in previous years) and stated that Tate Chairman, Paul Myners had previously thanked them for giving the Tate extra publicity. They also claimed that
Mark Wallinger Mark Wallinger (born 25 May 1959) is an English artist. Having previously been nominated for the Turner Prize in 1995, he won in 2007 for his installation '' State Britain''. His work ''Ecce Homo'' (1999–2000) was the first piece to occupy th ...
had copied their idea of walking round a museum dressed in a costume, that he was indistinguishable from a Stuckist demonstrator, and that his work was "utter bilge", which had "all the excitement of watching a pensioner do the shopping at Asda".


2008

There was a demonstration by the artists, wearing black top hats, on 29 September, the day before the show opened, when they gave out a leaflet with a "Not wanted" poster for Serota and button badges with the text "The Turner Prize is crap", although they had not yet seen the exhibition. Condemning the Tate's promotion of conceptual art and the lack of figurative painting in the show (citing Stella Vine as one painter who has been passed over), Thomson said, "The work is not of sufficient quality in terms of accomplishment, innovation or originality of thought to warrant exhibition in a national museum." Demonstration material is stored in the Tate archive and Tate officials have thanked the demonstrators for generating publicity; Tate Britain director, Stephen Deuchar, said, "In a sense, that is the whole point of the prize: to encourage public debate." Richard Brooks, writing in ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' said of the Turner Prize show, "the mediocre standard has almost turned me into a supporter of the Stuckists."


Turner Prize manifesto

Childish and Thomson issued a Turner Prize manifesto, dated 1 September 2000. The text is:


Tate response

Sir Nicholas Serota wrote to the Stuckists in 2005, rejecting a donation of Stuckist paintings, but saying he wanted to ensure "the Tate archive, as the national record of art in Britain, properly represents the contribution of the Stuckist movement to debates about contemporary art in recent years." In 2006, Tate chairman, Paul Myners, thanked the Stuckists for providing the Tate with extra publicity.


''New Blood'' feud with Saatchi

The Stuckists had declared their opposition to
Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi ( ; ; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest advertising agency in the 19 ...
from the outset, criticising what they saw as the vacuity of
Britart The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Goldsm ...
: "You can't help feeling that Saatchi's insipid
sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emoti ...
would make Duchamp wish that he'd never ever exhibited his piss-pot in the first place and had become a water-colourist instead.""An Open Letter to Sir Nicholas Serota" by the Stuckists
Retrieved 27 March 2006


A dead shark isn't art 2003

In 2003, the Saatchi Gallery re-opened at County Hall with a
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...
retrospective, which included the exhibition of his refurbished piece, ''The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living'', a shark in a tank of formaldehyde. On the same day as the Saatchi opening, the
Stuckism International Gallery The Stuckism International Gallery was the gallery of the Stuckism, Stuckist art movement. It was open from 2002 to 2005 in Shoreditch, and was run by Charles Thomson (artist), Charles Thomson, the co-founder of Stuckism. It was launched by a p ...
in
Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
—under the title ''A Dead Shark Isn't Art''— exhibited another dead shark, which had first been put on public display in 1989 (two years before Hirst's was first shown) by Eddie Saunders in his Shoreditch shop, JD Electrical Supplies. The Stuckists suggested Hirst may have seen this at the time and copied it, and pointed out that whether Hirst plagiarised Saunders work or not, Saunders was the real pioneering artist."A Dead Shark Isn't Art" on the Stuckism International web site
Retrieved 20 March 2006


Stella Vine and OFT 2004

In February 2004, Saatchi bought ''Hi Paul Can You Come Over'', a painting of
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
, with blood coming from the mouth, by ex-stripper Stella Vine (it was then exhibited in Saatchi's next show, ''New Blood''). There was international media reporting of this. Vine was talked of as "the new star of the Brit art scene", commenting, "I didn't think anyone really liked what I was doing", and that she had only been painting for four years "after accompanying her son Jamie, 18, to Hampstead School of Art" (a private college)."First Blood to Saatchi as a Star Is Born", The Daily Telegraph, 24 February 2006
Retrieved 27 March 2006
This caused a strong reaction from the Stuckists. Vine had for a short time been a member of their group, and they had first exhibited her in 2001, when she was also (briefly) married to Charles Thomson. She had even been a nominee for their ''Real Turner Prize Show''. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' newspaper validated these claims and reported Thomson's complaint that Saatchi had been "stealing their identity as he tires of the Britart scene"."Saatchi and Stuckists Brush in War of the Art Worlds", The Independent, 5 March 2004. Thomson and eleven other people (including non-Stuckists, such as David Lee and Christopher Fiddes of the Movement for Classical Renewal) then reported Saatchi to the
Office of Fair Trading The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economi ...
."Charles Saatchi 'Abuses His Hold on British Art Market'", ''The Independent on Sunday'', 28 March 2004. The grievance was: However, the complaint was not upheld and the OFT pronounced, "We do not have reasonable grounds to suspect that Charles Saatchi is in a dominant position in any relevant market", which Thomson turned to advantage by spotting the unintended slight and remarking that it was "just another cruel smack in the face" for Saatchi."Charles Saatchi and the OFT Attack", A Stuckist on Stuckism, stuckism.com
Retrieved 28 March 2006


The Triumph of Painting 2005

The Stuckists' concerns were not alleviated, when, at the end of 2004, Saatchi announced that he was putting his Britart holding into storage and devoting the next year to exhibitions featuring only painting. A few months prior to this announcement, Saatchi had stood outside the Stuckism International gallery,"Saatchi Stuck in Street", ''The Independent'', 18 May 2004. reading not only a placard that declared "STUCKIST ART IN 2001 IS SAATCHI ART IN 2004" (referring to Stella Vine), but also the anti-conceptual art, pro-painting Stuckist manifesto, which was on display.
Retrieved 28 March 2006
Thomson responded immediately in the press to the announcement of Saatchi's change of direction, with the accusation: "almost verbatim, he's stolen the introduction to our manifesto." When the show, ''The Triumph of Painting'', opened at the Saatchi Gallery on 25 October 2005, the Stuckists mounted a picket outside, handing leaflets to the incoming guests (including Saatchi's wife
Nigella Lawson Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook. After graduating from Oxford, Lawson worked as a book reviewer and restaurant critic, later becoming the deputy literary editor of ''The Sunday Times'' in ...
), and displaying placards stating, "Stuckism leads, Saatchi follows" and "Stuckism in 1999 is Saatchi in 2005". They also wore tall hats with Saatchi's face on,Stuckists demo at the Saatchi Gallery on stuckism.com
Retrieved 22 March 2006
and Thomson was photographed inside the gallery opening, wearing a T-shirt with the words "Saatchi the Stuckist"."Toast of the Town", Photos by Thierry Bal on artnet.com
Retrieved 28 March 2006


Other UK demonstrations


Trafalgar Square

The Stuckists demonstrated in 2001 in Trafalgar Square, when
Rachel Whiteread Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993. Whiteread was one of the Young British ...
's statue, ''Monument'', was unveiled. This was a resin cast of the fourth (vacant) plinth in the square, and was inverted on the existing plinth. It represents the type of conceptual art that the Stuckists strongly oppose. The statue was unveiled by the then- Culture Secretary, Chris Smith, against whom Thomson was standing in the
2001 United Kingdom general election The 2001 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 7 June 2001, four years after the previous election on 1 May 1997, to elect 659 members to the House of Commons. The governing Labour Party led by Prime Minister Tony Blair was r ...
as a Stuckist candidate. At this point Stuckist protesters (one of whom was Stella Vine) in the watching crowd held up protest placards. Thomson jumped over the metal crowd barrier onto the now-vacant podium and used the PA system to make an address about the complete absence of paintings in that year's Turner Prize (referring to a comment by Smith the previous year that there should be more paintings in the Prize). At the same time he held up a placard, which read, "Mr Smith, do you really think this stupid plinth is a work of art?""The Battle of Trafalgar", A Stuckist on Stuckism, stuckism.com
Retrieved 28 March 2006
When the PA system was switched off by an official, Thomson made his way back through the crowd and was surprised to find that an angry Serota had followed him. :Serota: "That was a cheap shot, using another artist's work to promote your ideas." :Thomson: "It's Dada." :Serota: "So that gives you the right to do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it?" :Thomson: "You and a few people like you control the art world and what goes on in it, and as artists this is the only way we can put our point of view across." : (At this point Serota walked off.) :Thomson: "That was Sir Nicholas Serota, the director of the Tate Gallery. Three cheers for Sir Nicholas." The Stuckism website headed its report on the incident with a quote from Serota's book ''Experience or Interpretation'': "a willingness ... to risk offence by unexpected confrontation can yield rewards"
Retrieved 28 March 2006


The Death of Conceptual Art

In 1999, the Stuckists art group had declared themselves "opposed to the sterility of the white wall gallery system", and, three years later, they opened their own Stuckism International gallery (with coloured walls) in
Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
in a street adjoining the
White Cube White Cube is a contemporary art gallery founded by Jay Jopling in London in 1993. The gallery has two branches in London: White Cube Mason's Yard in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London; White Cube Hong Kong, in Centra ...
gallery, which represents
Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...
and
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...
. To celebrate the opening on 25 July 2002, they dressed as clowns, processed the short distance from Charlotte Road over
Old Street Old Street is a street in inner north-east Central London, England that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shor ...
and deposited a coffin, marked "The Death of Conceptual Art", outside the White Cube's door with the comment, "This is the official date for the demise of conceptual art.""The Death of Conceptual Art", A Stuckist on Stuckism, stuckism.com
Retrieved 28 March 2006


General election

In 2001, Stuckist Co-founder,
Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Founding Father of the United States and secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson prepared the Journals of the ...
stood as a Stuckist candidate for the 2001 British General Election, on an anti-Britart ticket, in the constituency of Islington South and Finsbury, against Chris Smith, the Culture Secretary. Thomson picked up 108 votes (0.4%).


Cutting the string

In spring 2003, artist
Cornelia Parker Cornelia Ann Parker (born 14 July 1956) is an English visual artist, best known for her sculpture and installation art. Life and career Parker was born in 1956 in Cheshire, England. She studied at the Gloucestershire College of Art and Design ...
was allowed by the authorities to wrap
Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...
’s sculpture '' The Kiss'' (1886) in
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...
in a mile of string."No Strings Attached" The Guardian
Retrieved 22 March 2006
Many people felt it offensive to the original artwork and an act of vandalism rather than art. As a reaction, Stuckist artist Piers Butler cut the string, while couples stood around engaging in live kissing. However, this was described as an individual action outside the main Stuckist group by Thomson, who nevertheless took the opportunity to remark: "I was puzzled that Parker had been allowed to do her string-wrapping—thereby using another artist's work to promote her ideas—as this was precisely the allegation that an enraged Serota had thrown at me in Trafalgar Square and dubbed a 'cheap shot'."
Retrieved 22 March 2006


US Stuckist demonstrations


Seattle Pigs on Parade

In May 2001, the
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
Stuckist group (J. Puma, Z.F. Lively, Amanda Perrin and Brett Hamil) protested with placards, such as "Art-vertising is bad for the soul" and "Tacky and lame", against "Pigs on Parade", large fibreglass pigs which had been installed in the city and decorated by artists to make money for charity. Their objection was to the commercial devaluation of art through "an insidious trend in corporate art-vertising. It appeals to the lowest public tastes by providing a kitschy, totally predigested and inoffensive McArt for the masses." (Social or ethical comment was banned from the designs.) King 5 News mentioned the group (with a "glib chuckle"), but otherwise the event went unreported. There was a certain amount of public support, and Hamil concluded: "For some reason, Stuckists are saddled with the task of vocalizing what everyone already knows, and yet that doesn't make it any less valid. It just makes it that much more regrettable that no one's said it yet."Seattle Stuckists report on "Pigs on Parade"
Retrieved 27 March 2006


Clown Trial of President Bush

In order to "highlight the fact that the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
does not have the support of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, thus violating a binding contract with the UN", ''The Clown Trial of President Bush'' took place at 7 p.m. on 21 March 2003 on the steps of the
New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...
Federal Courthouse, staged by local Stuckist artists dressed in clown costume, led by Jesse Richards, Nicholas Watson and Tony Juliano. One of the participants was "a public defender for the state of CT. He thought it would be cool to dress up with us as clowns and do the thing. He ended up playing the clown judge. The courthouse that he works at is a block away from the federal courthouse where we did this."Clown Trial of President Bush on stuckism.com
Retrieved 27 March 2006
Simultaneously the New Haven Stuckism International gallery run by them opened a ''War on Bush'' show, including work from Brazil, Germany and the UK, while the London Stuckism International Gallery staged a "War on Blair" show.
Retrieved 27 March 2006
''The Yale Herald'' reported with the headline, "Stuckists scoff at 'crap,' war". Richards took the opportunity to comment, " Duchamp would go over to the Yale University Art Gallery and he would say, 'This is crap,' and he would go paint a picture.""Stuckists scoff at 'crap' war", The Yale Herald, 28 March 2003
Retrieved 27 March 2006


Protest shows and art

The Stuckists have made use of their art shows in order also to promote a message. The name of the group itself is an ironic pre-emptive riposte to their anticipated enemies—as represented in the first instance by former colleague-turned-
YBA YBA or yba can refer to a number of things: * Young British Artists, a movement of British artists in the 1980s and 1990s * Yala language, a language spoken in Ogoja, Nigeria, by ISO 639 code * Young Buddhist Association, an association of Bud ...
,
Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...
, who had called the group's co-founder,
Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper; 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer, and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing, and visual art. He has ...
, "stuck". The group's first show in 1999 was titled, ''Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!'' In 2000, they made an overt challenge with a show titled, ''The Resignation of Sir Nicholas Serota''. A painting in the show, '' Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision'' by Charles Thomson, has since been reproduced in the media many times and become an iconic image for the Stuckists. In 2005, another show was called: ''"Painting Is the Medium of Yesterday"—Paul Myners CBE, Chairman of Tate Gallery, Chairman of Marks and Spencer, Chairman of Aspen Insurance, Chairman of Guardian Media, Director of Bank of England, Director of Bank of New York. A Show of Paintings by the Stuckists, as Refused by the Tate Gallery. Guaranteed 100% Free of Elephant Dung.'' ''
The Stuckists Punk Victorian ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'' was the first national gallery exhibition of Stuckist art.Moss, Richard"Stuckist's Punk Victorian gatecrashes Walker's Biennial Culture24, 17 September 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2009. It was held at the Walker A ...
'' exhibition at the
Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 ...
during the 2004
Liverpool Biennial Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom. Since its launch in 1998, Liverpool Biennial has commissioned over 380 new artworks and presented work by over 530 artists from around the world. ...
including a free-standing screen with paintings attacking the Turner Prize and the Tate gallery. Michael Dickinson has exhibited political and satirical
collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...
s, addressing the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
and world leaders, particularly US President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. In 2006 he was told he faced prosecution in Turkey, where he lives, for his collage ''Best in Show'', showing the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan as a dog."Blair asked to help artist facing jail", ''The Sunday Times'' online, 11 June 2006.
Retrieved 12 June 2006
He was subsequently prosecuted for a similar collage, ''Good Boy'', and acquitted in a case that had implications for Turkey's application for membership of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
.Tait, Robert
"Turkish court acquits British artist over portraying PM as US poodle"
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 26 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.


Anti-Stuckism

There has only been one known anti-Stuckist demonstration, which was in 1999, when two Chinese
performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
ists jumped on
Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...
's installation ''My Bed'', in the Turner Prize at
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...
. The pair had various words written on their bodies, including "Anti-Stuckism". Their explanation is that they were opposed to the Stuckists, who are anti-
performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
."The Jumping Chinese Gentlemen at It again" Herr von Stuck's Hot Gossip Page
Retrieved 22 March 2006
According to Fiachra Gibbons of ''The Guardian'', the event "will go down in art history as the defining moment of the new and previously unheard of Anti-Stuckist Movement."
Retrieved 22 March 2006


See also

*
Art manifesto An art manifesto is a public declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of an artist or artistic movement. Manifestos are a standard feature of the various movements in the modernist avant-garde and are still written today. Art manifestos ...
* Demonstration


Notes and references

The online essay "A Stuckist on Stuckism" on stuckism.com is taken from the book:
Ed. Frank Milner (2004), ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'' National Museums Liverpool,


External links


Demos on Stuckism official web site




* ttp://www.3ammagazine.com/buzzwordsblog/2006/12/why-i-demonstrated-against-turner.html "Why I Demonstrated Against the Turner Prize for Seven Years" by Charles Thomson
2005 demonstration flyer in the Tate Gallery archive
{{Stuckism Stuckism Tate galleries