‘Phyllida Barlow is 70. I mention it immediately because it
is the most impressive thing about her.’
Although commencing his article with this rather damning
statement, Waldemar Januszczak does try to give Barlow’s most recent exhibition
at the Tate Britain some merit for being able to successfully fill the gigantic
Duveen Galleries with her installation Dock.
This merit of course does not last long, ending a brief review of the art
world’s ‘taste for older women’ with a comparison of Dock to a ‘humongous episode of Blue Peter…some old loo rolls and a
box of toothpicks borrowed from a giant’. This comparison is hauntingly
reminiscent of an article by Januszczak last year in which he criticised
Fischli and Weiss’s Rock on Top of
Another Rock over a substantial spread, challenging visitors to ‘hurry
along to the Serpentine if you want to see a carrot balancing on a Coke bottle
and witness the collapse in artistic values.’ Rock on Top of Another Rock has remained a permanent feature of the
Serpentine Gallery and, although perhaps not to everyone’s taste, it does
portray natural beauty at its most primitive. It is harmless in that it is
natural, it is not made from non-biodegradable plastic, it does not dominate
the surrounding park, and it is not painted bright orange.
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| Rock on Top of Another Rock by Fischli and Weiss. Taken from http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/8/1362742543724/764ac9ea-eb49-4370-bd5d-36dd2e841204-620x372.jpeg |
Having complimented Barlow with the back of his hand and a
light slap in the face, Januszczak then seamlessly progresses to criticise the
woman responsible for the Tate Britain since 2010, Penelope Curtis. I met
Penelope Curtis for the first time last week for a business meeting in which
she appeared highly organised, passionate about the Tate, pleased with the work
I had done and was interested in my professional opinion, regardless of her
obvious seniority. As Januszczak’s previous employer, the Guardian, has
coherently put it, he has ‘called for her head’ describing her as a ‘disaster’
who ‘has to go.’ However, Januszczak’s argument seems rather unsubstantiated,
claiming that the public have lost interest in the collection at the Tate
Britain leading to a 10% loss in visitor numbers last year. This decrease in
visitors is hardly surprising when over a quarter of the gallery was closed
until November 2013, due to its huge £45million refurbishment. Other than this
figure, Januszczak supports his argument only with his opinion that recent
exhibitions at the Tate have been below par and that he hasn’t liked Curtis’
exhibitions in the past.
Whether or not you agree with Januszczak’s statement that
Curtis has been a disaster, I think it has to be taken into consideration that
she is a woman at the top of her game. No, not the sexism card I hear you cry!
I am not implying that Januszczak’s attack has been misogynistic; in fact it
would be misogynistic not to challenge an art director because she is female.
However, with so many of the top London
art galleries directed by men shouldn’t we be encouraging a woman who has
reached the top of her field? The Royal Academy is directed by Chris le Brun,
the Tate Modern by Chris Dercon, National Portrait Gallery by Sandy Nairne, the
National Gallery by Nicholas Penny and the Hayward is directed by Ralph Rugoff,
to name a few.
As one of hundreds of female graduates in History of Art I
find it disheartening that so many of the top jobs in the art world are still
dominated by men. I am aware that things are changing with women like Iwona
Blazwick, Director of the Whitechapel Gallery, slowly changing the system.
However, female graduates need to see successful women in order to aspire to be
the best in their field. How can they possibly do this when the most successful
female art director in the UK
is being forcefully encouraged to step down over what is essentially a
difference of opinion? Janusszczak’s
article is not the first to criticise Penelope Curtis with Zoe Pilger at the
Independent covering the reopening of the Tate last November. Titling her
article ‘Matriarch of the Museum’ she then bluntly states that ‘Curtis is
single and has no children. She lives in Shepherd's Bush.’ Maybe this is just
public interest but would a writer describe a man as single (possibly) but childless?
Probably not.
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