Art is not just something to hang on the wall
André is a Belfast-born live artist who has been at the forefront of contemporary art practice for well over 20 years.
He made difficult and uncompromising work in his native city; work which brought him onto the street and into conflict with the authorities.
He has represented Ireland at exhibitions in Cork’s Crawford Gallery and co-curated the most extensive gathering of performance from around the world for Span 2001 in London.
I recently saw documentation of his work at PS1 in New York and last year I attended the launch of Small Time Life, a document of André’s life and work, at the Courtauld Institute in London.
The location of the launch at this bastion of the British art establishment showed how, through diligence and honesty, André had brought the much maligned live arts onto the curriculum and into public debate.
The factual inaccuracies over his commission at the Bedford Arts Centre owe more to opinion journalism than genuine reporting.
André was asked to make six works over six months. The funding included the publicity and documentation.
Your correspondent choose speculation over scrutiny, adopting the selfsame method of dictation common in the British tabloid press and now, sadly, a feature of a respected Irish broadsheet.
I am an Irish live artist living in England. On a frequent basis, we encounter opposition due to our background and our chosen medium.
We welcome open informed debate about our practice and we make possible (as André did as curator of Span) to invite audience and artist discussions to broaden awareness.
We try to be faithful to our practice and to our community, deciding not to produce art objects, making the possibility of a decent living often impossible.
That is our choice but I cannot allow the laziness of a critic to go unchecked.
I would welcome a responsible debate on live art practicef you wish to fulfil a responsibility to your readers, begin the process but give voice to those who, like André Stitt, have earned the right to speak.
Denis Buckley,
Engaged Art Action,
People Show Studios,
Pollard Row,
London E2 6NB.
