All This Stuff: Archiving The Artist

artists Bruce and Debra Welch with the Director of Tate Britain, Penelope Curtis

A crowd gathered at White Cube Bermondsey on 23rd May for the launch of the book All This Stuff: Archiving The Artist  published by LIBRI.

front cover of All This Stuff: Archiving The Artist illustrated with an image of Bruce McLean's King For A Day, A One Day Retrospective 1972

The book is edited by Victoria Lane, Karyn Stuckey, and Judy Vaknin from the Art Libraries Society (ARLIS UK & Ireland) and came about as the result of two study days at Tate Britain in 2007 and 2009 initiated by Sue Breakell, former archivist at Tate and now based at University of Brighton. The book includes a chapter by CHELSEA space Director Donald Smith annotated by Bruce McLean entitled ‘The Impossibility of Archiving In the Mind of an Artist Still Living’ outlining all of the projects that the two have worked on together since Smith curated the 2006 CHELSEA space show Bruce McLean: Process Progress Project Archive 1966-2006.

Clive Phillpot with Tate Director Penelope Curtis during the speeches for 'All This Stuff ...'

artists Ruth McLennan and Uriel Orlow (centre foreground) at the launch of All This Stuff

Contributors to All This Stuff… include Penelope Curtis, Ruth McLennan and Uriel Orlow, Meirian Jump, Anna McNally, Sas Mays, Gustav Metzger, Barbara Steveni, Jane Stevenson, Athanasios Velios, Jo Melvin, and  Neal White. Jo Melvin curated Bill Beckley: The Ping Pong Dialogues at CHELSEA space in 2008 whilst Neal White’s Fieldworks From the Museum of the Void was shown at CHELSEA space in 2010.

Debra Welch, Clive Phillpott, and Bruce McLean

The introduction to the book is by the  influential writer and curator Clive Phillpot. Clive was formerly Librarian at Chelsea School of Art before becoming the Librarian of the Museum of Modern Art New York. He was responsible for establishing the renowned  Special Collections at Chelsea, work that has been continued by brilliant librarians including Dr Steve Bury (now Andrew W. Mellon Chief Librarian at the Frick Art Reference Library, New York), Liz Ward, and Gustavo Grandal Montero. The Library Special Collections at Chelsea have featured throughout CHELSEA space’s programme in shows including Avalanche 1970-1976,  Vertigo: Marcel Duchamp and Mark Titchner,  The Affirmation, Don’t Do Any More Henry Moore, Aphasic Disturbance, The West London Social Resource Project Public Monitor 1972, and Ideal Home.

screening of 'Archive Of The New' a film collaboration by Bruce McLean, Donald Smith, and Debra Welch at White Cube Bermondsey

There  were  screenings at the White Cube launch including ‘Archive Of The New’, a  film collaboration by Bruce McLean, Donald Smith, and Debra Welch made especially  for the event. Debra Welch has worked with CHELSEA space on many occasions in the past few years and has edited films for several of our exhibitions including Mick Jones: The Rock & Roll Public Library. She was also included in the exhibition 8 + 1 = 16 at Chelsea Futurespace whilst Blood Orange, her curatorial collaboration with artist Sarah Simmonds, recently showed in Brussels and included the American artist Peter Downsborough who showed at CHELSEA space in And here + A Place To Be 

Barbara Steveni interviewing Tony Benn

Other films included the excellent Barbara Steveni/Artists Placement Group (APG) interview with former Labour Party Cabinet Minister, Tony Benn

designer Sally Bannayi with artists Mike Iveson and Debra Welch at White Cube

Also present was artist Mike Iveson who works regularly with CHELSEA space and whose exhibition RE-make/RE-Model  at Chelsea Futurespace was included in the CHELSEA space chapter in All This Stuff: Archiving the Artist.

double pages from All This Stuff: Archiving The Artist juxtaposing Bruce McLean works from 1971(left) and 2011

Iveson had seen the CHELSEA space News Blog from May 2011 showing Bruce McLean with a recently rediscovered archive photograph from 1971. He asked McLean if he could include the 1971 image  in the publication for RE-Make/RE-model and this dialogue led to Bruce McLean making a new work especially for the show at our sister gallery.

Ashley Rich

RE-make/RE-model looked at the multifarious influences of printmaking processes amongst a diverse group of contemporary artists including Ashley Rich who is showing at The Old Fire Station in Oxford from 8th June until 5th July 2013.

Stephen Willats at Modern Art Oxford

It will be very good time to go to Oxford because Rich’s exhibition overlaps briefly with Stephen Willats brilliant show Concious Unconcious in and out the reality check which is at Modern Art Oxford until 16th June, and Master Drawings at the Ashmolean Museum  (until 18th August), one of the world’s best collections of works on paper.

Oswaldo Maciá 'Scenario For CHELSEA space' 2013

Meanwhile back in London, Tuesday 4th June sees the opening of the next CHELSEA space exhibition The Library of Cynicism: the archaeology of sound and smell by Oswaldo Maciá.

Private View: 6-8.30pm All Welcome