Art destruction

As one of the UK’s richest artists prepares to burn thousands of his paintings, Dr Jared Pappas-Kelley, Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Teesside University and author of Solvent Form; Art and Destruction, shares his views on the destruction of art in the Guardian.


Dr Jared Pappas-Kelley

Dr Jared Pappas-Kelley is the course leader for MA Fine Art at Teesside University and supervises PhD students doing practice-based research in Fine Art as well as teaching on both the MA Fine Art and the BA Fine Art. He gained his PhD in Philosophy, Art and Critical Thought (PACT) at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and in his own practice as a visual artist he focuses on an instability in the art object and the intersection between practice and theory.

His book, Solvent Form, explores the destruction of art, both in terms of objects that have been destroyed – lost in fires, floods or vandalism – and the general concept of art operating through object and form.  He examines events such as the warehouse fire at Momart in 2004 and works indirectly destroyed by art thief Stephane Breitwieser, ultimately proposing the idea of solvent form (hinging on the dual meaning in the words solvent and solvency) whereby art, while attempting to make secure or fixed, likewise undoes and destroys through its inception.

Artist Damien Hirst recently revealed that he will be burning thousands of his paintings at his London gallery to show art as ‘currency’. His announcement has brought both condemnation and praise from the art community – Dr Pappas-Kelley would argue that all objects of art hold their own destruction latent within them. Commenting in the Guardian on the Momart warehouse fire which destroyed about £30m of British art, he suggests that such an event is good for revealing the way art metaphorically trips on the carpet. Of the fascination with fire and destruction in art events like this, Dr Pappas-Kelley observed, ‘In theory no one is neutral at these specific fires – you either set it, are attempting to put it out or are watching the spectacle of it.’

Image by bedneyimages on Freepik

Hirst, who dominated the art scene in the 1990s will burn his paintings over several weeks, culminating in a final blaze during the Frieze Art Fair in London. Whilst some suggest that this is nothing more than a great publicity stunt, Hirst hardly needs the money, purported to be the richest living artist in the UK. Others see it as something more, an ‘out with the old, in with the new’ act of destruction that creates opportunity for a creative phoenix to rise from the flames.

Dr Pappas-Kelley is currently working on further book projects – one a collection of manifestos commissioned by contemporary artists and thinkers, the other a collection of short reflection pieces on works by contemporary artists such as Janine Antoni, Uta Barth, Terrence Koh, and Kiki Smith. He brings his wealth of knowledge and research activity into the classroom, informing teaching and benefiting students of Fine Art at Teesside.


Find out more about Fine Art at Teesside University:

BA (Hons) Fine Art

MA Fine Art

Fine Art students exhibit across Middlesbrough

This August sees a number of fine art students from the School of Arts & Creative Industries at Teesside University exhibiting their work for the general public to see


Friday 19th August sees the opening of an exhibition at Parkside West  featuring the work of MA Fine Art students. Titled ‘FEMELLE’, the exhibition is a showcase of the work of female artists including:

  • Amy Austin
  • Charley Duffy
  • Robyn Fyfe
  • Vanessa Langford
  • Donna Morris
  • Evelyn Rodgers

Amy, Charley and Donna all completed BA Hons Fine Art degrees in the School of Arts & Creative Industries at Teesside University before progressing on to study their masters in Fine Art.  Along with Robyn, a studio holder at Auxiliary, they have all been accepted onto teacher training courses in September, with a view to sharing their creative talents with the next generation of arts students.

Vanessa is an experienced Community Arts Practitioner of 20 years. She is looking forward to working towards showing her work in the local area on completion of her MA.

Evelyn also completed a BA (Hons) Fine Art at Teesside University and she has plans to develop her sculptural and textile practice, working towards exhibiting locally after her MA studies.

The exhibition opens to public viewing at Parkside West, Middlesbrough TS2 3LF at 10am on Friday 19th August, closing at 4pm. On the 20th August the exhibition is open between 10am and 2pm.

Another Fine Art student, Ellen Ranson, is currently exhibiting her most recent work, inspired by a fellowship in Venice, at Pineapple Black in Middlesbrough until 20th August. Ellen is an abstract expressionist painter who works on large canvases, using bright colours and layers to create a sense of depth on the canvas.

Ellen Ranson

 

MIMA Great Create shortlisted finalists announced

Saturday 28th May sees the long-awaited finals of the MIMA Great Create competition and six worthy finalists will be joining us at MIMA with their family and friends for an intimate celebration and the revealing of the winner by Elinor Morgan, Artistic Director, MIMA.


The competition opened to entries on 26th March 2022 and in just over six weeks the School of Arts & Creative Industries at Teesside University received a range of highly creative entries, from music clips, illustrations, paintings, upholstery designs and photographs, to short films, origami sculptures, drawings and more. Judging began on the 10th May and our team of judges from across the creative industries have made their decisions.

Six entries were shortlised, with judges commenting on the high standard of entries

“What a treat to get to review such creative work. There were some absolutely fabulous entries!”

The six shortlisted finalists along with friends and family are joining us for an intimate finals celebration at MIMA on Saturday 28th May, where the winner will be revealed and all finalist entries will be displayed in a pop-up exhibition in the MIMA atrium. The exhibition will be available to view over the coming Platinum Jubilee extended Bank Holiday weekend for all visitors to explore. Whilst you can see a version of the shortlisted entries below (links to songs on artist’s name), we’d encourage you to come along to MIMA to experience them visually and audibly in their full glory, in the creative environment of the atrium:

Ella Miller 

I created this piece with a risograph printer to build up the rich layers of history and beauty and celebrate details that are important to me as an illustrator; we have so many local creative hubs, like MIMA and Darlington Hippodrome, that are so resourceful and full of inspiration. I also wanted to celebrate my pride in being northern with a bit of humour because who hasn’t had a giant seagull steal a chip in their life, and I certainly couldn’t live without a lemon top! From steam trains to bridges, the North East is built with strength and radiance.

Jonathan Raiseborough 

My entry, ‘Boro Skyline’ is an illustration inspired by the environment and landscape of Teesside and the different aspects of the area that represent it as a whole. The foreground nature scenery in the illustration is based on the RSPB saltholme and Seal Sands nature reserves and the heritage of the biodiversity preserved so close to the industrial areas that represent another, very different, part of the region’s identity. The illustration was drawn in fineliner, coloured in Adobe Photoshop and based on how varied, seemingly opposite, prominent elements of what makes up Middlesbrough and the region co-exist together as one.

Grace Coverdale

I  created an acrylic painting on canvas depicting a concept I  believe  is a dominant  part of my culture and region. ‘The decline of the Teesside Steelworks Industry’ as a result of postmodern technology and globalisation. This concept is  something that affected all generations in this region.
I chose a  long canvas and presented my painting  horizontally,  as you glance down  left to right, you see that the further along the canvas  the steelworks become less shows the industry has completely disappeared.

Airen Sopany

Since the theme of the competition is the heritage of North East England, I decided to recall all the memories I’ve made while studying here. Although I have yet to explore the whole of North East England, there are fond memories I have of this region. I’ve decided to commemorate my wonderful experience so I get to cherish it forever with this entry filled with my images.

Jake Beddow

I decided to write a piece of music to represent the history and current story of the Teesside region. Middlesbrough was one of the first towns to be bombed during WW2 so the first half of my track is full of trumpets and loud drums as an omage to the music played whilst armies marched towards battle. Using samples of the UKs greatest sports commentator, Middlesbrough born Chris Kamara, I attempted to capture how Teesside has evolved into a great and modern place as the track also evolves into a more modern sounding song.

NICEGUY

A song I wrote about the sneering at Teesside from those who’ve never lived here

The winning finalist will be revealed on Saturday 28th May – Good luck everyone!