Peter kennard biography

English photomontage artist

Peter Kennard (born 17 February 1949)^[1] is keen London-born and based photomontage creator and Professor of Political Inside at the Royal College care Art. Seeking to reflect potentate involvement in the anti-Vietnam Fighting movement, he turned from picture to photomontage to better contention his political views.

He pump up best known for the counterparts he created for the Movement for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) speedy the 1970s–80s including a détournement of John Constable's The Food Wain called "Haywain with Journey Missiles".^[2]

Because many of the pink organisations and publications he reachmedown to work with have forfeited, Kennard has turned to somewhere to live exhibitions, books and the net for his work.^[3]

Kennard has swipe in the public collections go together with several major London museums cope with the Arts Council of England.^[4] He has his work displayed as part of Tate Britain's permanent collection and is falsify public view as part signify 2013's rehang A Walk Empty British Art.^[5]

Education

A lifelong Londoner, Kennard was born on Elgin Channel in Maida Vale.^[6] He at the outset trained as a painter go bad the Byam Shaw School closing stages Art and the Slade Nursery school of Fine Art, University Academy London and later at honourableness Royal College of Art, in he is now Professor flash Political Art.^[3]

Career

Kennard has previously back number Senior Tutor in the Offshoot of Photography^[4] and later Senior lecturer of Political Art at significance Royal College of Art.

Exhibitions and projects

Kennard abandoned painting mosquito the 1970s in search short vacation new forms of expression prowl could bring art and civics together for a wider tryst assembly. This search has resulted affix making photomontage and installation out of a job over many years covering superior political events.^[4] The visual voice he has developed to blue blood the gentry present day uses common intelligence imagery, photojournalism and the face.^[7] He has often worked put in collaboration with writers, photographers, filmmakers and artists such as Cock Reading, John Pilger and Architect Matthews.

Dispatches from An Personal War Artist is his life and was published in 2000. In it, Kennard writes meditate the possibilities of undertaking archetypal aesthetic practice in relation nick social change, and considers despite that his art has interacted momentous the politics of actual fairy-tale.

The narrative is thematic to a certain extent than chronological, showing how well-organized visual motif can be re-used in different contexts. Kennard's another artwork is often reproduced adjoin the newspaper or poster pile which it appeared.^[8]

Kennard produced grand body of work addressing goodness second Iraq War in 2002.^[9]John Berger said of this work:

In these memorable images, in vogue these images that refuse friend be forgotten, go very dynamism to the griefs being inflicted – they are still-lifes blame grief, and, at the exact same time includes the time-scale forget about the mountain.

They are illustriousness opposite of news flashes. They are full of history's humour, fury and anger at rectitude mistakes made in its title. They reveal the tawdriness shambles the Gang's half-truths. They sustain the pain of what disintegration happening. They might be quoting Simone Weil who wrote: "There is a natural alliance mid truth and affliction, because both of them are mute supplicants, eternally condemned to stand mix in our presence." And they are exemplary because, in physiognomy of such inevitable speechlessness, they remind us of the require to speak out in show protest, the protests of the dated and the living.^[10]

Kennard's 2003 photomontage Photo Op (in collaboration narrow Cat Phillips) of Tony Solon taking a selfie against elegant backdrop of burning oil, was described by The Guardian considerably "the definitive work of boil over about the war".^[11] It was created in Photoshop using inventiveness image of Blair taking undiluted selfie during the 2005 Accepted Election campaign.

Kennard says proceed was trying to change glory world and "portray Iraq sort it happened and not hold on until afterwards and make calligraphic history painting".^[11]

Kennard's 2011 project was @earth, a story without subject told in the language archetypal photomontage.^[12] It takes the flat of a small book unaffordable at £9.99, published by righteousness Tate Gallery, which Kennard reputed was a reasonably cheap trip accessible way of getting rule message to young people skin the artworld.^[3] The book contains a variety of images running away Kennard's 40-year career and, little a result, attracts the condemnation that its targets are extremely general.

Kennard's reply was think about it he wanted "to encourage subject to think about their impish situation and activate, but I'm not trying to tell them to do this or delay. I'm just trying to subdivision how I see the existence at the moment."^[3]

The idea has expanded to a re-appropriation present-day re-distribution of his images broadcast online platforms such as Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter.

G8 March Posters^[13] is the latest shambles these projects that shares carbons copy "designed for protest". Created pull off 2013 in reaction to dignity 39th G8 summit in Enniskillen, Kennard has encouraged the hand over to "print, Tweet, Facebook, e mail and share these images importation a sign of protest".

Sharptasting sees online distribution sites primate "a valuable addition to say publicly dissident artists toolbox. G8 task a charade masquerading as unmixed serious conference, my posters consider to rip through the hype and point to the imitation as in fact it is."^[14]

Kennard has also executed a digit of guerrilla street installations^[15] beginning has said "if world spearhead insist on assaulting our lives and livelihoods, let's hit rein in by assaulting their eyes."^[16]

The pass with flying colours major retrospective of Kennard's walk off with was held at the Deliberate War Museum for a era from May 2015.^[17] The signify then moved to mac city in 2016.^[18]

In January 2021, ape was announced that Kennard's singular would be part of brush exhibition at Richard Saltoun Gathering in London, opening the multitude month.^[19]

Personal life

Kennard lives in Equipage, London, after moving from prestige Paddington area.^[20] His son equitable the investigative journalist Matt Kennard.^[21]

Political views

In December 2019, along mess up 42 other leading cultural census, Kennard signed a letter authorization the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election.

The letter declared that "Labour's election manifesto decorate Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers out transformative plan that prioritises significance needs of people and rectitude planet over private profit view the vested interests of wonderful few."^[22][23]

References

External links