John Keane - Softcover

Mark-lawson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1851588043 ISBN 13: 9781851588046

Publisher: Momentum Publishing, 1995

Synopsis

KEANE has the probably unique distinction for a British artist of having been the subject of an tonal in The Sun. The circumstances in which this occurred are described in Chapter Seven of this book, but the general observation can be made here that it was entirely fitting that Keane's work should : cixl up making headlines as his work was made out of the headlines. If a stranger looked at John Keane's passport - with its stamps for Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belfast and the Gulf during a three-year period - they would assume that he was either a journalist or a spy. If told that his work had also touched on the Falkland's War, the British coal-mining industry and the impact on Britain of Thatcherism, they would conclude that he was definitely a television or newspaper reporter. More than any other modern British artist, Keane has demonstrated a desire to get out of the studio and into the social and political frontline. What he produces is a kind of editorial art. It should perhaps be explained at this point that it was Keane's own idea that this assessment of his 'work should be written by someone who is a general and political journalist rather than an art critic. Like his decision to have the preface to one of his exhibition catalogues written by the comedian Alexei Sayle, it is a measure of a desire to place himself somewhere outside the traditional boundaries of the art world. But, if one obvious reason why this book is called Conflicts of Interest is its subject's interest in conflicts - military, social and psychological - the title also touches on other important aspects of Keane's work. His engaged style of work is clearly in conflict with other artistic traditions, from abstractionism to lyricism. His Nicaraguan or Guatemalan landscapes, for example, would probably irritate, for different reasons, admirers both of Warhol and Turner. Indeed, work like Keane's - broadly representational but highly politicised.

About this edition

• Publisher: Momentum Publishing
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 1851588043
• ISBN 13: 9781851588046
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120