Susan Hiller - a fond farewell - but never goodbye...

Image used from Telegraph article 2016

Today I was greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Susan Hiller. I met, interviewed then wrote my dissertation on her work many many years ago, as a young art student. This is a short personal reminiscence of a love affair with her art, one which will continue long after I am gone...

Catalogue published by South Bank Centre, London

1997 A great exhibition with a huge cast of artists: 

Angela Bulloch, Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Avis Newman, Ceal Floyer, Cerith Wyn Evans, Christine Borland, Cornelia Parker, Douglas Gordon, Gary Perkins, Gavin Turk, Grenville Davey, Ian Hamilton Finlay, John Latham, Martin Boyce, Michael Landy, Mona Hatoum, Rachel Whiteread, Richard Deacon, Richard Wentworth, Roderick Buchanan, Shirazeh Houshiary, Simon Patterson, Steven Pippin, Eric Bainbridge, Tony Cragg, Anya Gallaccio, Cathy De Monchaux, Kerry Stewart, Bill Woodrow, Abigail Lane, Lucia Nogueira, Marcus Taylor, Alison Wilding, Damien Hirst, Julian Opie, Richard Hamilton, Richard Wright, Sarah Lucas, Susan Hiller, Graham Gussin, Rebecca Warren, Neil Cummings, Marysia Lewandowska, Jacqui Poncelet

I initially that my love of Susan Hiller's work began at a group exhibition at the Hayward Gallery called Material Culture - where her From The Freud Museum piece was displayed; I fell in love instantly. I bought the book of the same name & returned to see the work several times during the run of the show (as I was working at the National Theatre part time & could get free entry to exhibitions on the South Bank). Notably, two of my other favourite artists Mona Hatoum & Cornelia Parker also had work in the show.

Publisher: Routledge

1991

In fact, my exposure to her work had begun years earlier with a book The Myth of Primitivism: Perspectives on Art which I had used frequently when studying in Australia. Introduced & compiled by her, the book is still one of my favourites. Hiller's earlier career as an anthropologist informed her work as an artitst in ways that always added layers to her concepts & aesthetic thus deepening & sustaining your attention long after the first look. I have returned to many of her works over the years for inspiration & as a signpost to others when mentoring artists. The human condition combined with her deep understanding of many cultures outside of her own many times resulted in me saying the phrase, "All roads lead to Hiller." For me, she is to art what Kevin Bacon is to cinema.

During Material Culture I attended a talk - an informal one with around 100 of us standing in the space. Hiller alongside Richard Deacon. I remember vividly that he didn't see her works as true sculpture due to the fact that she used found, antiqued & used objects as well as custom made boxes in the piece. He felt that the artist must make everything with their own hands. I did not agree & when the floor was open for questions I was quick to ask Susan about her work. After asking my question Deacon sat on the floor & did so for the rest of the q&a. 

©Susan Hiller From the Freud Museum 

1991-96

Afterwards, I approached Susan to see if I could interview her. At the time we had been asked to review the show, but I knew straight away I was onto something special & had to seize the opportunity, for more than just a review. I think because of Deacon's response it helped my cause & Susan was happy to be interviewed. She instructed me that the questions 'better be good' - I respected her for that - I didn't want to waste her time. Her self assured nature demanded instant respect. You were in no doubt that Susan knew what she wanted & her inquisitive intellectual nature would expect no less than excellence.

The interview was as insightful & as mind-widening as I had hoped. My resulting dissertation focused on just 3 of the 50 custom archival collecting boxes in the From The Freud Museum work. (Yes, I did get a distinction for it). 

I had absorbed myself in all of her works, seen as many as I could, but this piece consisted of so many layers it would have been criminal to sweep over them, hence my focused approach. I still rejoice whenever the Tate (who purchased it the year after the Material Culture show) display it, or any of her work for that matter.

©Susan Hiller Psi Girls 1999

Psi Girls at Delphina, was another amazing installation in 1999. It is not lost on me how fortunate I was to be in the room with the work alone one mid week afternoon. Absorbing the telekinesis depicted in film with female protagonists including Firestarter with a young Drew Barrymore - the videos build up to a crescendo & it is impossible not to be affected by it. As with many immersive installation pieces I was utterly drawn in & moreso thanks to my solo status. I never experienced the same intensity again when I saw it elsewhere. 

©Susan Hiller - Artangel

The same could be said for Witness - the venue with its arched roof combined with the work had so much more atmosphere & suited the multiple recordings of UFO sightings around the world than a gallery. The disused chapel was cool, with a smell of stone which heightened the dramatic lighting. UFO shaped silhouettes & shadows were cast on the walls from the stripped back earpieces dangling at different lengths throughout the space.

I was thrilled to see her in person again at her retrospective show at Tate Britain years later. I was also delighted that she remembered me & we had a brief catch up. Whenever I saw her she was always generous, fascinating, direct, clever, funny, an absolute mine of experience & intellect & of course an ardent feminist. Her work has influenced so many, & will continue to do so. We are lucky that her works are owned by many public collections. Most recently I listened to her voice on the tape of her piece Monument (at Tate Modern) which celebrates unknown heroes whom lost their lives whilst saving another, full of extraordinary acts of bravery by ordinary people.

I took this last time it was on display at Tate Modern

I recently came across the cassette tape (yes that long ago) with our conversation fro my dissertation. I'm so glad to have her voice at hand from all those years ago. For those of you who haven't heard it when Tate next displays Monument 1980-81 do take the time to sit & listen to the whole thing & be kind, rewind afterwards...



*A previous blog I wrote about Susan Hiller can be seen here.

I could write about her for days, please read further on her work you will be glad you did!

Still Photography? Discuss...

Photogram Number 1 - the Mirror

 László  Moholy-Nagy  American, negative 1922 - 1923; print about 1928 

© Estate of László Moholy-Nagy / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

As a result of my brief involvement on a panel discussing the 'Photo50' exhibition I was encouraged by the enthusiasm of the audience. One person spoke about her experience making cameraless images such as photogram's as a result of not owning a camera when she began her BA in Photography. This limitation  became a salvation not only for her experience of photography, but also artistically. Photogram's have been famously used by many great artists since the medium began. However, rather than an illustrated history of the photogram I thought I would share a few recent works & favourite photogram's. This is by no means an extensive selection, but a lovely start to lead into 'The Hand of the Artist' which will be the title of my next post.

Feather that went to the Top of Everest

Cornelia Parker

1997

h: 40 x w: 30.5 cm / h: 15.7 x w: 12 in

(for full details on Artnet see link)

This post was prompted by a visit to the Whitechapel Art Gallery today, where I saw a work I hadn't seen in the flesh before by an artist I have admired for many years, Cornelia Parker. (Her earlier sculpture Thirty Pieces of Silver  1988-9 is a firm favourite.) Of course with my proclivity for all things associated with flight I was thrilled to see this in the Government Art Collection room, selected by Simon Schama. Although I was not fully convinced by the curation as a whole I was delighted to see this series, titled (importantly as with all the works in the series) 'Up Down Charm Strange'. 

Feather from Freud's Pillow

Cornelia Parker

1998

Each feather has a story to tell, but without the artist to tell it we would be blissfully unaware of it's significance, both metaphorically & literally to the people & places that it was connected to. Just as the feather has been in contact with someone &/or something that is part of history, we are invited to connect also in a more intimate way than usual. Museums do just this also of course, displaying objects for us to observe. Often it is the domestic items which attract my attention as the grandeur of some collections are indeed fascinating, they do not always tell a story in such an evocative way. By taking something as small & seemingly insignificant as a feather from Freud's pillow; Parker has beautifully illustrated the heights reached by these remarkable individuals. They are exquisitely rendered as they make 'contact' with the photo paper. 

Smoke 

From the series My Ghosts (1999) by Adam Fuss

The ephemeral nature of a photogram is what still fascinates me. The untouchable made tantalisingly real upon the photo-sensitive surface. The wisp of smoke registering as it fleetingly brushes the paper, give rise to meditative musings, a closer contact with the source of the image with the omission of the camera...

Getting closer to the original source of the image, brings us one step closer to the artist themselves, who's interaction with their subject is acutely 'present' when approaching the work. Photography's association with the technical & mechanical is often a hinderance when persuading the masses to see photography as a true art form. Perhaps in times of austerity, the growing interest in 'craft' reflects our need for human contact in the midst of cold hard unfeeling times. It is this connection which will be the subject of my next post.  

Celebrate Susan Hiller!

It was my pleasure last week to go to the opening at Tate Britain of Susan Hiller's show. This wonderful showcase of the talent of an artist whom inspired me over a decade ago with her work in the Material Culture show at the Hayward Gallery. For 2 years whilst at college in Australia I had used a book called The Myth Of Primitivism edited by Susan Hiller. At the time I had no idea that she was also an artist, so was thrilled when the connection was made at the Hayward exhibition when my favourite work in the show turned out to be by her. From The Freud Museum is a truly inspired body of work, whereby 50 custom made anthropological collecting boxes are filled with items both found, made, antiqued and assembled by the artist. The talk at the Hayward was where I finally had my chance to meet her and ask if I could conduct an interview about the work for my final dissertation for my BA. She agreed as long as my questions were good enough. Fair enough I thought and got to work.

The result of which earned me a distinction, so I guess it was ok. I focused my energy on only 3 of the boxes which were so laden with meaning I couldn't have possibly done the whole piece. Her work focused on the things in Freud's house (now The Freud Museum) that weren't catalogued. Freud obsessively catalogued anything and almost everything that came into the house, from cutlery to art and kept detailed records. In finding things, objects and curios that had not made it onto the list Hiller began her work to construct her major work, which is now part of the Tate's permanent collection.

This work is only a fraction of what is on show. Witness is an amazing installation, with hundreds of speakers hanging from the ceiling casting UFO-like shadows on the walls. Each speaker has been stripped back to its bare necessities to form the right shape for the shadow. I first saw this at The Chapel and the use of the chapel set the scene and atmosphere beautifully. The next best thing is the Tate installation. Experiences of UFO's from all around the world are played through the speakers. Walking through it is a dreamy experience.

Talking of dreamy experiences, Dream Screens is proof of how ahead of her time Hiller is. Go to the link and click on the screen at different points, it changes colour as the narration plays. Bearing in mind this was done in 1996! This is not in the show and is fully interactive. So if you don't make it to Tate Britain by May 15th (and there are few excuses for this) dip into Hiller's work from the comfort of your own computer.