The Artist at Home
Studios, Practices and Identities
Published on 11. January 2024
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-350-37901-5 (ISBN)
Description
Artists have worked from home for many reasons, including care duties, financial or political constraints, or availability and proximity to others.
From the 'home studios' of Charles and Ray Eames, to the different photographic representations of Robert Rauschenberg's studio, this book explores the home as a distinct site of artistic practice, and the traditions and developments of the home studio as concept and space throughout the 20th and into the 21st century.
Using examples from across Europe and the Anglophone world between the mid-20th century and the present, each chapter considers the different circumstances for working at home, the impact on the creative lives of the artists, their identities as artists and on the work itself, and how, sometimes, these were projected and promoted through photographs and the media. Key themes include the gendered and performative aspects of women practising 'at home', collaborative studio communities of the 1970s - 90s including the appropriation of abandoned spaces in East London, and the effects of Covid on artistic practices and family life within the spaces of 'home'. The book comprises full-length chapters by artists, architects, art and design historians, each of whom bring different perspectives to the issues, interwoven with short interviews with artists to enrich and broaden the debates.
At a time when individual relationships to home environments have been radically altered, The Artist at Home considers why some artists in previous decades either needed to or chose to work from home, producing work of vitality and integrity. Tracing this long tradition into the present, the book will provide a deeper understanding of how the home studio has affected the practices and identity of artists working in different countries, and in different circumstances, from the mid-20th century to the present.
From the 'home studios' of Charles and Ray Eames, to the different photographic representations of Robert Rauschenberg's studio, this book explores the home as a distinct site of artistic practice, and the traditions and developments of the home studio as concept and space throughout the 20th and into the 21st century.
Using examples from across Europe and the Anglophone world between the mid-20th century and the present, each chapter considers the different circumstances for working at home, the impact on the creative lives of the artists, their identities as artists and on the work itself, and how, sometimes, these were projected and promoted through photographs and the media. Key themes include the gendered and performative aspects of women practising 'at home', collaborative studio communities of the 1970s - 90s including the appropriation of abandoned spaces in East London, and the effects of Covid on artistic practices and family life within the spaces of 'home'. The book comprises full-length chapters by artists, architects, art and design historians, each of whom bring different perspectives to the issues, interwoven with short interviews with artists to enrich and broaden the debates.
At a time when individual relationships to home environments have been radically altered, The Artist at Home considers why some artists in previous decades either needed to or chose to work from home, producing work of vitality and integrity. Tracing this long tradition into the present, the book will provide a deeper understanding of how the home studio has affected the practices and identity of artists working in different countries, and in different circumstances, from the mid-20th century to the present.
Reviews / Votes
This original and multifaceted book interweaves artists' interviews with contributions from art historians, design historians and architects. Surveying the domestic and creative functions of the studio alongside its performative role, it makes a compelling case for the enduring cultural significance of these extraordinary places. * Louise Campbell, Emeritus Professor, History of Art, Warwick University, UK * Insightful and timely, with a wealth of fascinating case studies and approaches, this book offers crucial new perspectives on the competing pressures of the domestic and the professional, and the myriad ways in which artists have negotiated, resisted or embraced them. * Clare O'Dowd, Research Curator, the Henry Moore Institute, UK * Demystifies the trope of the artist's studio as a mythical (and separate) space of creativity, helping to expand and enrich its modern definition. Accessibly written and hugely informative, it will be of interest to researchers, artists, art students, architects, designers and cultural theorists. * Gill Perry, Emeritus Professor of Art History, The Open University, UK *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
35 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
746 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-37901-5 (9781350379015)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2024
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Visual Arts
€31.99
Available for download
Persons
Imogen Racz is an art historian and former Associate Head of School for Research at Coventry University, UK. She is the author of British Art of the Long 1980s: Diverse Practices, Exhibitions and Infrastructures (Bloomsbury, 2020) and Art and the Home: Comfort, Alienation and the Everyday (Bloomsbury, 2015).
Jill Journeaux is Professor of Fine Art at Coventry University, UK, and Director of Drawing Conversations. She has published on expanded drawing practices, including Body, Space and Place in Collective and Collaborative Drawing (2020) and Collective and Collaborative Drawing in Contemporary Practice (2017).
Jill Journeaux is Professor of Fine Art at Coventry University, UK, and Director of Drawing Conversations. She has published on expanded drawing practices, including Body, Space and Place in Collective and Collaborative Drawing (2020) and Collective and Collaborative Drawing in Contemporary Practice (2017).
Content
List of Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction, The Artist at Home, Imogen Racz (Independent Scholar, UK) and Jill Journeaux (Coventry University, UK)
Part One: The Studio at Home: Designing and Projecting the Creative Life
1. Blurring Boundaries between Life and Work: The Home Studios, Homes and Design/Film/ Multi-Media Workshop of Charles and Ray Eames, 1941 to 1978, Pat Kirkham (Kingston University, UK)
2. Interview, Liz Harrison and Imogen Racz
3. An Atomisation of the Home: Towards a Compound Dwelling Interior, Nicholas Thomas Lee (The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Denmark)
4. Interview, Paula Chambers and Imogen Racz
5. Interview, Zahrah Al Ghamdi and Imogen Racz
6. Robert Rauschenberg's Studio through the Lens of Two Photographers, Adi Meyerovitch (Yale University, USA)
7. Interview, Graham Chorlton and Jill Journeaux
Part Two: Women, Home, Studio
8. Working from Home: Portuguese women artists during Estado Novo, Maria Luisa Coelho (University of Oxford, UK)
9. Interview, Gerda Roper (Teesside University, UK) and Jill Journeaux
10. Making Memory Material: Clutter and the Home Studios of Margaret Olley and Mirka Mora, Cassandra Joore-Short (Melbourne University, Australia)
11. Interview, Carole Griffiths (Bradford College, UK) and Jill Journeaux
Part Three: Live-work Communities from the 1970s to the 1990s
12. Abandoned and Appropriated Homes: The live-work spaces of artists in East London, Imogen Racz (Independent Scholar, UK) and Heidi Saarinen (Coventry University, UK)
13. Mikey Cuddihy Reflections
14. Housewatch: Cinematic architecture for the Pedestrian, David Martin (Independent Scholar)
15. Interview, George Saxon and Jill Journeaux
Part Four: Staying Home During COVID-19
16. Sailing to my Nearest Neighbours for Lockdown Cocktails: Reflections on the Politics of Home and Homemaking during a Pandemic, Maria Photiou (University of Derby, UK) and Lia Lapithi (Independent artist)
17. Interview, Fran Cottell (Camberwell College of Arts, UK) and Imogen Racz
18. Artists at Home and Away: Mobile Bodies, Distance and Proximity, Gudrun Filipska (Arts Territory Exchange)
19. Interview, Angie Walton (Liverpool John Moores University, UK), Sarah Black-Frizell (Liverpool Hope University, UK) and Imogen Racz
20. Studio. Object. Home: Place Setting, Jill Journeaux (Coventry University, UK)
21. Interview, Sreejata Roy and Jill Journeaux
22. Interview, Anastasia Starikova and Jill Journeaux
Index
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction, The Artist at Home, Imogen Racz (Independent Scholar, UK) and Jill Journeaux (Coventry University, UK)
Part One: The Studio at Home: Designing and Projecting the Creative Life
1. Blurring Boundaries between Life and Work: The Home Studios, Homes and Design/Film/ Multi-Media Workshop of Charles and Ray Eames, 1941 to 1978, Pat Kirkham (Kingston University, UK)
2. Interview, Liz Harrison and Imogen Racz
3. An Atomisation of the Home: Towards a Compound Dwelling Interior, Nicholas Thomas Lee (The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Denmark)
4. Interview, Paula Chambers and Imogen Racz
5. Interview, Zahrah Al Ghamdi and Imogen Racz
6. Robert Rauschenberg's Studio through the Lens of Two Photographers, Adi Meyerovitch (Yale University, USA)
7. Interview, Graham Chorlton and Jill Journeaux
Part Two: Women, Home, Studio
8. Working from Home: Portuguese women artists during Estado Novo, Maria Luisa Coelho (University of Oxford, UK)
9. Interview, Gerda Roper (Teesside University, UK) and Jill Journeaux
10. Making Memory Material: Clutter and the Home Studios of Margaret Olley and Mirka Mora, Cassandra Joore-Short (Melbourne University, Australia)
11. Interview, Carole Griffiths (Bradford College, UK) and Jill Journeaux
Part Three: Live-work Communities from the 1970s to the 1990s
12. Abandoned and Appropriated Homes: The live-work spaces of artists in East London, Imogen Racz (Independent Scholar, UK) and Heidi Saarinen (Coventry University, UK)
13. Mikey Cuddihy Reflections
14. Housewatch: Cinematic architecture for the Pedestrian, David Martin (Independent Scholar)
15. Interview, George Saxon and Jill Journeaux
Part Four: Staying Home During COVID-19
16. Sailing to my Nearest Neighbours for Lockdown Cocktails: Reflections on the Politics of Home and Homemaking during a Pandemic, Maria Photiou (University of Derby, UK) and Lia Lapithi (Independent artist)
17. Interview, Fran Cottell (Camberwell College of Arts, UK) and Imogen Racz
18. Artists at Home and Away: Mobile Bodies, Distance and Proximity, Gudrun Filipska (Arts Territory Exchange)
19. Interview, Angie Walton (Liverpool John Moores University, UK), Sarah Black-Frizell (Liverpool Hope University, UK) and Imogen Racz
20. Studio. Object. Home: Place Setting, Jill Journeaux (Coventry University, UK)
21. Interview, Sreejata Roy and Jill Journeaux
22. Interview, Anastasia Starikova and Jill Journeaux
Index