15 May 19 | Artistic Freedom Case Studies Supporting Documents
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Talking – The curator and I had always been happy having 1-1 conversations with people about the subject, but the idea of talking more broadly was I think terrifying. I knew that we absolutely had to overcome this. I remember when I said that Maurice Davies wanted to talk to me for The Art Newspaper about self censorship. I knew him and trusted him, he wasn’t a journalist, but I think we were both nervous although I didn’t falter that we would take this opportunity to talk about the fact that soon we would be talking about doing something. He allowed us sight of whatever he wrote before he published it, and I vividly remember Donna and I pouring over the one or two lines from me. Similarly the Museum Hour twitter discussion presented itself by chance. They tweeted that they had an empty slot that week, and I saw that it was Gill’s birthday, and decided (unilaterally and without the team really knowing about it) that I would host this, from my own twitter account. And asking questions only but being publicly engaged. There have been other times when I have decided to act unilaterally without consultation. A recent article for Apollo (Gerry and our PR looked over it last minute), and the text panels (Cathie looked at them but no one else … there are mistakes as a result but it was still the right decision!).
Index – I can seem quite impulsive and risk-taking, and I think that my staff needed to know that there was someone they trusted, who was very involved in the project, and confident and experienced enough to hold me to account if needed, and to talk and share there experiences with, someone involved who wasn’t me. Donna initially suggested a psychiatrist at Portman Clinic, but we also found you and Index, the idea that a case study was being developed, that would monitor and record the process was I think a calming and controlling effect for the staff.
Twinkle (work by Cathie Pilkington)– the idea of placing Twinkle in the introduction gallery was a huge moment, for me and for the team. It was goosebumps. She is being variously described as our guardian angel, or mediator, through this exhibition, and Cathie realises too that she has almost become a new and more potent work in this context. It was almost like she gave us permission to do the exhibition. I think the feeling happened again at the workshop day, and when I spoke to Courtauld students.
Cathie & the Doll – I knew immediately that when I met Cathie that we were going to work together on this, and that she provided a perfect way of engaging with the difficulties of the Petra doll. It was also clear to the workshop day that her involvement was key. Her work is complicated enough and she is accessible enough!
Workshop day – I don’t really remember how the idea of a workshop day came about but the overriding feeling was that we needed to take the lid off the pressure cooker which was the museum, and the way the staff were feeling. (I had needed to do this earlier on other issues to break open a very isolated and cliquey atmosphere that was here when I arrived.) I felt that the wider sector would support and comfort some of the anxieties, and also throw some light and experience on the subject.
Wellcome Trust – I met a couple of staff from the Wellcome Collection Front of House team at Museums Conference and I knew that if they could spent time with my team then that would be really reassuring particularly for Rebecca. I think that the day that she and Lucy spent with the Wellcome reassured them that we had put everything in place that we needed to. I don’t think we learnt a huge amount from them but it was reassuring. I know that I have put lots of people around myself to make this possible, I have struggled for my team to do the same around themselves despite making many introductions for them. I think this is something I need to reflect on with them in 1-1 meetings.
Rachel – I had a meeting with Vicky Kington, a prospective Trustee and Head of Press & PR at National Theatre, a couple of days before the workshop day and she suggested getting a trusted journalist to follow the process from the start. She asked who I would turn to and I said Rachel Cooke who I had exchanged tweets with when she wrote something about Gill and biography a year or so previous. I messaged her that night, and invited her to the workshop the following Monday, she was free and interested and excited. She felt it was fortune! (Working in this way also took the pressure off a long lead PR campaign as no press release was issued until after Rachel’s story three weeks before the show opened).
Kim Thomas – I remember palpably the experience of listing to Kim talking about BBC Casualty doing a story line about FGM. About how important it was to do, and the process they took, but also the overwhelming feeling that if they can do this, then we must do our own difficult issues. And the phase she used, that museums are trusted places in society, and must use this position to engage with difficult issues. I think it is no coincidence that I am also adopting the position of sharing our process, and wanting to provoke the sector into being proud of this role, and active in it.
Survivors Charities – I was nervous about diping my toe into this sector so first approached someone who I knew we probably wouldn’t be working with because they were quite the right area, but they would know other people, and I had a personal link to get to them. It was good testing out the subject with someone who we wouldn’t ultimately work with, the pressure was much less, and they could introduce me to the right people (and introduction being hugely valuable to enter the conversations without either side being as guarded). I remember asking him – what might be the concerns of this sector, and what might be the reasons why they would want to engage with us. This became invaluable information.
The Family – I had a meeting with Kim Thomas midway through the planning for the exhibition and asked her if she were my trustee would she let me do the show. She asked me what I thought our weak areas were; what made me wake in the night with worry. What were the areas I was avoiding doing. I said that I hadn’t engaged enough with the survivors charities, or Gill’s descendants. She told me to go back to her in a week’s time to say that I had! The next day I had a meeting with one of Gill’s great-granddaughters. It had been in my diary but I hadn’t quite engaged with it. When she came we managed to bring up the subject and it was very emotional for her. She was relieved to hear about what we were doing. I had subsequent conversations with Gill descendants. Not all easy ones. But I had taken the opportunity to do the first one face-to-face, and that eased the other conversations.
War memorial plinth – was a test, or reaffirmed my sense that this story might be written for us if we didn’t take steps to write it ourselves.
Two Temple Place and testing the wording for the text panels was one – hearing feedback from volunteers there allowed us to be prepared for the sorts of questions we would have to answer.
Trustee meeting – this was important in me having the confidence to say that we aren’t going to do this exhibition half-heartedly.
I took (and made) every opportunity I could to talk to people about the exhibition: our Friends association, the Art in Ditchling Open Houses group, University of Sussex students, Courtauld students …
Curatorial
Text panels and interpretation material will be shared with the Curator of Sculpture at V&A, Head of Interpretation at British Museum, Director of Brighton Survivers Network and curatorial colleagues at Wellcome Collection [NH]
Press & PR
Julia Farrington, Index on Censorship, produce Case Study on the process to record the consultation process [NH]
An exhibition rationale document is produced explaining the museum’s reasons for mounting the exhibition – shared with Kim Thomas, Editorial Adviser and former Head of Arts at BBC. [GW]
Key allies are developed in the press in advance of the PR campaign [GW]
Rachel Cooke, The Observer
The Argus
Press training is given to staff, trustees, Friends association, volunteers and key stakeholders [GW]
Press strategy and LAEs developed [GW]
Vicky Kington, Head of Press at National Theatre
Emma Robertson, Brighton Festival
Kim Thomas, Editorial Adviser and former Head of Arts at BBC
Facts documented created [NH]
Stakeholders notified with press release and rationale document [GW]
Village – Parish magazine, Vicar, DHP, Parish council via Don MacBeth and Tom Jones, Visit Ditchling and DVA
Gill Family
Visitor experience
Film commissioned for the Parlour featuring Cathie Pilkington, NH and DS (and hopefully Director of Brighton Survivers Network and a member of Gill’s family) to show personal narratives about why the exhibition was important, and our own feelings about curating it, and the works shown, and not shown [LJ]
Process developed for visitors to feedback their experience of the exhibition, and their personal responses to the questions raised; important to show that we value and want to hear all of these experiences [LJ]
Writer-in-residence appointed (with ACE funding) to create a new piece of work from the visitors’ experience of the exhibition – both from talking to visitors and from their written responses. This would also establish a permanent record of the exhibition. [LJ]
Signposting is provided to organisations who support people affected by sexual abuse and sexual violence – on leaflet given to all visitors, and on back of toilet doors. [LJ]
Staff & volunteer training
Additional member of staff on duty (in the gallery) during weekends in May (initially). [RD]
Staff will conduct hourly walk-throughs of the gallery during the week to increase presence in the gallery space. [RD]
Weekly debriefs to ensure that all staff are aware of how visitors are responding to the exhibition and changes can be made if appropriate. [RD]
Ensure appropriate and adequate barriers or age limits are in place at the ticket desk to reduce risk of visitor offence – checked with Samual Jones, Chair of Due-Diligence Group at Tate and Sarah Bailey, Head of Legal at Tate [RD]
Staff and volunteers provided with 3 sentence description of the exhibition.
New exhibition signs produced for behind the desk to indicate content.
Verbal and/or visual warning installed if explicit material is included.
Scenario training provided for staff and volunteers by Wellcome staff [RD]
Staff and volunteers receive talk on Eric Gill’s biography [RD]
Staff, volunteers and trustees receive talk from NH and DS on the rationale and journey towards the exhibition, and introduction to the content [RD]
Advice for refunds drawn up for FoH and Volunteers [RD]
Things not to say – and why document [RD][/vc_column_text][three_column_post title=”Case studies” full_width_heading=”true” category_id=”15471″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
15 May 19 | Artistic Freedom Case Studies
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Name of Art Work: Isis Threaten Sylvania
Artist/s: Mimsy
Date: August – September 2015
Venue: The Mall Galleries as part of Passion for Freedom’s September exhibition of artworks exploring ideas of Freedom
Brief description of the artwork/project: ‘Isis Threaten Sylvania’ is a satirical series of light box tableaux, using the children’s toys ‘Sylvanian Families’. The toys are featured at picnics, on the beach and at school, threatened by more of the toy animals dressed up as members of Isis in the background. They had previously been exhibited without incident at ART15 global art fair. Passion for Freedom, who, since 2009, have mounted an annual competition and exhibition celebrating freedom of expression, hired the Mall Gallery for the exhibition.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”106736″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Why was it challenged?” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”106735″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]The police identify “serious concerns” regarding the “potentially inflammatory content” of Mimsy’s work and outline a number of security measures that need to be taken. The curators asked for more information about these concerns, especially if they relate to any threat to Mimsy herself. No more information was given by the police. In a meeting with Passion for Freedom, gallery management tells the curators Passion for Freedom that Mimsy’s work is not real art; also that Tasleem Mulhall’s ‘Stoned’ is one of several works being reviewed by the gallery to establish whether or not it is appropriate.
Mall Galleries specify that the additional police security will carry costs to be charged to the artist and would amount to £6000 per day – or £36000 for the week. Passion for Freedom are also reminded that, contractually, whether or not they want to pay for the police to provide security, the Mall Galleries has the right to withdraw from the contract if they feel artworks are inappropriate.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”What action was taken?” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Passion for Freedom decide that, as they cannot afford the additional costs, they will not include Isis Threaten Sylvania in their exhibition. The curators issued the following statement to the gallery: “Taking into consideration the fact that if MIMSY’s artwork is going to be exhibited at Mall galleries, Passion for Freedom will be billed £6000 per day for providing security to all staff and public throughout the opening time (£36000 per week) and the paragraph 4.a. in our contract (the right of the gallery to request an artwork/s to be removed if necessary) unfortunately we are unable to show this artwork.” The gallery still requests that there is some additional security, the costs of which are charged to Passion for Freedom. The removal of the artwork receives some criticism in the media. [/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”What happened next?” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Mimsy and Passion for Freedom organisers print 5000 copies of cards with an image of Mimsy’s work and an explanation of the situation. They call this: “Entartete Kunst” which means “Degenerate Art”, and refers to the Nazi treatment of art that was not in the service of the Nazi propaganda machine. They distribute these to the guests leaving the gallery. They also place an advert in Standpoint Magazine, informing the public what had happened. Neither the police nor the gallery took any further action. One year later Channel 4 holds a pop-up exhibition of ISIS Threaten Sylvannia hosted by Trevor Phillips at Gillett Square in Dalston. There were no incidents.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Refections” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]In an interview with Agnieszka Kolek, in the lead up to Passion for Freedom’s 2018 show, Julia Farrington asked how the experiences of 2015 impacted on how her approach to this year’s exhibition.
The commitment and the conviction are still there. But we are not clear where we stand, because there is no clear definition of what is appropriate or what is inflammatory. It is a shifting ground. In the past, we created the space to fully exhibit work that had been censored elsewhere by a curator or a gallery owner. Now we are in the situation where the state, through the arm of the police, imposes this pre-emptive self-censorship on you. Since the censorship incident, we cannot guarantee artists that they will be able to exhibit/perform during a festival talking about freedom. Over the years there has been a number of artists who requested to be exhibited under pseudonyms (as often their lives are threatened in the UK or back in their home countries). Can we guarantee that the police will not arrest them? Until now, we could guarantee it to them. Since 2015 we are not sure that is the case. My approach is not to have any preconceived idea of how it will go with the police this time. We will still try to be open and have a dialogue in the belief that the police are still there to protect us and it is still a democratic country. I will be honest – we are also treating it as a kind of testing ground. Let’s see if this is still a democratic country or is it just on paper?
The artistic community in the United States and Australia is shocked by the police’s censorious attitude to arts in London. There are groups of people who decided to open Passion for Freedom branch offices in New York and Sydney to ensure that British censorship is being exposed. And in case freedom is completely extinguished in the UK they can continue the important work to give artists the platform to exhibit their works and debate important issues in our societies. And if we discover that there is even less freedom than in 2015, we are considering moving this exhibition to Poland because there is more freedom there. This is on the cards, we are already discussing it.
Passion for Freedom took place at Royal Opera Arcade Gallery & La Galleria Pall Mall, London October 2018.
Miriam Elia aka ‘Mimsy’
Claire Armistead of the Guardian had been writing about the ‘lady bird thing’ [the ‘Peter and Jane go to the Gallery’ written with her brother Ezra, which earned them a legal letter from Penguin “for breach of copyright”]. She asked me if I was doing anything else. So I told her how my piece ‘ISIS threaten Sylvannia’ had been removed from the ‘Passion from Freedom’ exhibition – I showed her the police letters and images of the Sylvannia piece. She wanted to write about it and asked if she could and if she should use my name. I was a bit scared actually. I didn’t make it with any idea that it would impact in anyway, and I knew what had happened to Agnieszka [survivor of the terrorist attack in Copenhagen]. I was planning a family at the time, so I said ‘let’s just keep quiet about it – I’ll call myself Mim or something’. But it’s a good job that I did, because it went viral, and all the newspapers were talking about it, the BBC was talking about it and it was on Russian news. I thought it was hilarious. But what you think is funny, someone else will kill you for it, doesn’t mean you’re not going to do it. Nobody knew it was me except perhaps my mum and a handful of people. It was only because I had a connection with someone in the media that it came out at all – this sort of thing is probably happening a lot and you just get on with it.
But at the same time I felt the work hadn’t really been finished. I am not happy with a piece of work that only exists virtually or in the news. I made a book out of it and it into an artwork. People were sharing it they didn’t know it was me. Then there was this Channel 4 thing. They showed it in a pop up gallery. Trevor Philips was really behind it and he asked people who came in to the gallery if they thought this was offensive and everyone said they thought it was really funny.
It’s odd that the police can get involved isn’t it? It means that the people who are threatening you are winning. [The police] are cowards, they should be standing up for the people taking the mickey, and they say no no no but you’re triggering them. That was what was scary, the idea that now you have no protection. If you want to do this then on your own head be it. That’s a really bad sign.
You’re not allowed to cause offence. It’s so demented. I think offence is part of freedom, not killing people, or inciting people to violence but taking the piss out of each other is normal.
I am anti-identity politics.My latest book is ‘Piggy Goes to University’. This pig that is guilt tripped into thinking that he is the reason that everything is wrong in the world and that’s the basis of his moral compass – pig privilege it’s a huge send up of identity politics. This pig is motivated by this need for a completely kind world, where no one offends anyone. It’s basically animal farm but brought up to date in the university campus, he ends up assaulting everybody and shutting everybody down, bullying people basically, based on what they look like. Identity politics is an ideology, it’s like a religion, it doesn’t make sense. It’s totalitarian and it’s time they come under attack as in satire, not censorship. It’s a huge power.
I was in the Synogogue for Yom Kippur and the Rabbi said that this was the opportunity for apologising for your sins – so if you have hurt someone, or offended them this is the chance to say sorry. So I put my hand up and said it says in the prayer book to apologise for killing someone, or stealing. My job is to be a satirist. Am I meant to apologise for satirising stuff – we go to the gallery might offend conceptual artists and they might cry – grow up!! The message is stop making satire or any kind of parody – politics is going into religion into everything. He couldn’t answer- and everyone was shocked at what I said. England is so good for its history of satire and poking fun at things, to lose this just for all this ideological pap.[/vc_column_text][three_column_post title=”Case studies” full_width_heading=”true” category_id=”15471″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
07 May 19 | Artistic Freedom Case Studies Supporting Documents
Why has the issue of Gill’s abuse not been addressed by the museum before?
The issue has always been something that has been addressed, but always privately and 1-1. This is the result of almost two years of discussing how a more consistent and open conversation with our audiences might look.
Why does the museum feel it is ethically okay to continue to promote and celebrate the work of a child abuser?
The Museum’s charitable mission is to share the contents of its collection for public benefit – for learning, inspiration and enjoyment. Eric Gill is central to the museum’s story and narrative and is internationally regarded for his contribution to art, craft and design. We do not think it appropriate, nor helpful, to censor his work and have instead taken the decision to have an open and honest conversation with our visitors rather than brush this story under the carpet or turn a blind eye.
What do Gill’s descendants think about this exhibition?
We are now three or four generations away from Eric Gill and so it is invariably a big family, and like any large group their views vary hugely. We have had long, difficult but open conversations with many descendants and they are supportive of our decision to do the exhibition, and looking forward to seeing the extraordinary sculptures and drawings which we have brought together for the exhibition.
What do the inhabitants of the village think about this exhibition?
I think that when Fiona McCarthy’s book was published the village was surprised by the revelations, and I am sure it was discussed at length in houses and pubs across the village. Now nearly 30 years later I am sure that there will be no revelations in the exhibition rather it is an opportunity to really examine the question we always come back to: how much can we separate the artist from the work that they produce.
Why do you feel it’s necessary for people to know about Gill’s past? Why can’t audiences just enjoy his art?
We do hope that there will be works of art on display which audiences can enjoy, some of his most spectacular sculptures and drawings are included within the exhibition. However we do need to provide the information to our visitors that helps them to interpret and understand the works. I am sure that some visitors will object to us raising the biography again, the same as I know that some visitors will object to us failing to publicly acknowledge the abuse.
How do you think it will make museum visitors who have been subjected to sexual abuse feel?
From working with Brighton Survivors Network, National Association fort the Protection of Abused Children and Stop it Now, we are told that 1 in 4 women have experienced some sort of sexual abuse. Our interpretation is sensitive to this, and our publicity material is all clear about the content of the exhibition so visitors will be aware of what they are coming to see. All visitors will be signposted to authorities who will be able to help those who need to talk further, and we are grateful to these charities for their support and advice.
What measures do you have in place to help any visitors affected by the exhibition?
Referral information will be provided to all visitors with their tickets, as well as posters within the building. Staff and volunteers have received training from NAPAC and Wellcome Collection.
How can you sell a commercial show on the back of such an awful subject?
The museum is a registered charity and makes no profit from the exhibition; admission ticket income supports the ongoing costs of running the museum. Our primary objective is educational and this exhibition is part of our educational remit to interpret our collection and tell the stories associated with the artists in our collection and integral to our narrative.
How do you think this exhibition will affect families with children coming to visit the museum, especially over the summer holiday months?
The majority of the exhibition is appropriate to audiences of all ages, as is our permanent collection which occupies the majority of the museum. Across the 80 works on show we have four works which contain sexually explicit material. This will be clearly signposted in an age restricted area of the exhibition. We will be providing plenty of appropriate material for children and families within and beyond the museum walls during the exhibition.
What if visitors come to your museum just expecting to see some nice art (or not knowing what to expect) and are faced with this difficult subject?
The exhibition is being well promoted and all marketing material explains the narrative of the exhibition. The quality of the works on display is exceptional as is the permanent collection which is always the centerpiece of the museum’s displays. Museums are places to learn, discover and think … as well as enjoy. This exhibition will certainly inspire thought and discussion, but there is plenty of beauty
What do you say to those who believe that Gill’s public works should be removed?
We have a duty to preserve and maintain our collection, and to interpret it for our visitors. I don’t think that removing and censoring Gill’s work serves anyone, and the victim/survivor organisations which the museum is working with share the belief that opening up the conversation increases the likelihood of preventing and stopping abuse.
Ditchling is a quaint, rural museum celebrating a man who committed monstrous acts – how can visitors enjoy your museum and its exhibits in full knowledge of this history?
Not all art is to be enjoyed; some art is powerful for other reasons. Many people still do enjoy Gill’s work as wonderful examples of many craft forms. We also have many other artist’s work within our permanent collection and temporary exhibition programme. If visitors choose not to visit Eric Gill: The Body then I hope they will enjoy one of our future displays.
Why are Petra, Betty and Joan not represented in the museum?
We have work in our permanent collection by or of all four of Gill’s children and are actively collecting their work. We are particularly interested in their childhood drawings produced in the village and how these relate to their father’s work. Petra’s work as a weaver is also represented in our collection.
Did other members of the Guild and Ditchling community know about the abuse?
Although it was probably very clear to many people that Eric Gill was interested in sex and the body, this is very different from knowledge of any sexual abuse of his children. There is no evidence that anyone knew of this which would not be uncommon with interfamilial sexual abuse which relies on absolute secrecy.
Is Gill a significant enough artist to celebrate anyway?
Gill is unquestionably an important artist who had a significant impact on carving, lettercutting, typography and wood engraving. His work is held in the permanent collections of museums across the world including Tate, V&A and British Museum in London. The typeface he designed is one of the most commonly used in the Western world and his sculptures grace the buildings of the BBC, Westminster Cathedral and the United Nations. Whether or not his work is celebrated is a more personal one and is integral to the question that we are asking our audiences.
How will the museum talk about Gill and display his work after this exhibition? Where does it leave the museum/what’s the legacy?
After this exhibition, and the learning that we have undertaken as a result, we will reflect on how the permanent collection displays can incorporate this information so that the museum does not turn a blind eye to Gill’s more disturbing biography again. This will more than likely take the form of including within our revolving permanent collection displays works by Eric Gill where knowledge if Gill’s abuse is critical to understanding the work. We will then provide this information in the correct context without sensationalizing.
Is the abuse continued/perpetuated by showing these works?
We have consulted with the Brighton Survivors’ Network, NAPAC and other charities who work with people who have been abused and we all believe that to stop future abuse it is better to talk openly rather than turn a blind eye and censor. We can well understand that for some these works are particularly hard to enjoy and appreciate. This is an issue explored in more depth within the exhibition.
Why show images of naked women who have been abused by their artist father?
These images are significant works of art and are part of our permanent collection which we have a duty to preserve, display and interpret. We have taken significant steps to present them in an open and honest way for people to make their own minds up as to whether the knowledge of the abuse affects our appreciation and enjoyment of the works of art.
Why is Petra the focus of the exhibition and not Betty?
Images of Petra and Elizabeth are included in the exhibition. Eric Gill made the carved wooden doll for Petra, and gave it to the museum, it is this object which particularly caught the attention of Cathie Pilkington and the inspiration for her new work Doll for Petra.
Aren’t you really drawing attention to Gill’s appalling private life in order to attract additional publicity and visitor numbers?
Fiona McCarthy’s biography on Gill was published nearly 30 years ago so the information has been in the public domain since then. Since the museum became dedicated to the art and craft of the village in 2014 the need to confront this central issue of whether we can separate the art and life of the artist has become more important. The Museum has spent two years consulting on the development of this exhibition and we believe it is our public duty to talk about the subject openly and honestly. It is not without financial or reputational risk for a museum to embark on a controversial subject such as this so is not programmed lightly.
Have you timed this exhibition now as ‘historic sex abuse’ is such a hot topic?
We have been working for the last few years to develop a way of talking more publicly about the issue within the museum, although superficially it may be easy to link Eric Gill to Rolf Harris or Jimmy Saville, in fact his was the harder to confront issue of interfamilial abuse which rarely goes detected or reported.
What warnings are you giving to alert visitors that some of the exhibits and what you call the ‘narrative’ may be disturbing or offensive, if they are?
All visitors will be given a leaflet with their tickets explaining the content of the exhibition, it will include a warning of sexually explicit material. This material will be in a separate area with additional age barriers.
Are all your Trustees comfortable with this exhibition and the approach you are adopting?
The museum’s staff and trustees have all been part of the process of developing this exhibition.
What about Dame Vera Lynn – does she even know the exhibition is taking place? Not her sort of thing, surely?
Dame Vera Lynn has just celebrated her 100th birthday and we were delighted to congratulate her on this. Understandably she is little involved with the day to day operations of the museum now but we are very grateful for her support in the past and her ongoing Patronage of the museum.
How does the wider artistic community in the UK see Gill in the light of the comparatively recent disclosures about his past?
I am sure that artists, like our wider visitors and audience, will take differing views on this issue. It is for this reason that the exhibition is framed as a question to ask how much our knowledge of Gill’s abuse affects our enjoyment and appreciation of the work he produced.
Do you regard Fiona McCarthy’s biography as authoritative? Has she been approached to attend and/or comment?
Other books have been published on Gill since Fiona’s biography but none question her discoveries. Our director is often in contact with her but, nearly 30 years after her biography on Gill, she is understandably working on new projects now.
Have you had any formal or informal; protests from feminist and/or victim support groups?
We have been working closely with Brighton Survivors Network, NAPAC and Stop it Now in preparation for this exhibition.
Has any of Gill’s work been removed from places where it was previously exhibited now that awareness of and attitudes towards incest and child abuse have changed?
We don’t know of any examples of Gill’s work being removed and his reputation as an extraordinary craftsman and designer continues to this day.
Do you believe that sexual behavior now regarded as abhorrent was much more over-looked or even accepted – particularly amongst artists – in the 1920s?
There is no evidence that anyone knew of Gill’s sexual abuse during his life. We think that Gill’s sexual abuse of his daughters was unacceptable – then or now.
What value is placed on Gill’s work commercially in the art market today? Does knowledge of an artist’s proclivities increase or decrease the value of their work?
There are many factors which influence the art market and as a public museum more concerned with artistic rather than monetary value, this is not an area in which we have expertise. Certainly Gill continues to be popular and prices have rised, but the cause of this is probably much more complex than the revelations in a biography almost 30 years ago.
What percentage of the permanent collection at Ditchling is by Gill?
We hold a large collection of Gill’s work in the museum’s permanent collection, but we also hold a large body of work by other great artists including David Jones, Frank Brangwyn, Ethel Mairet, Edward Johnston and others.
Do you think there is a risk once awareness of the exhibition builds your visitors to Ditchling may include voyeuristic abusers and paedophiles?
I think this is highly unlikely. The museum is a treat of a destination for any lover of art and craft across a broad range of crafts from silversmithing to weaving and natural dyeing. The work we are showing are extraordinary carvings, drawings and wood-engravings; this is not a sleazy voyeuristic exhibition but a thoughtful and considered analysis of Gill’s artistic output.
Gill was supposedly Catholic. Has there been any reaction to your exhibition from the Catholic Church?
We have not been working with the church on this exhibition. Although Gill was Catholic, and a founding member of the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic, the sexual abuse which he perpetrated was unconnected to the church and was interfamilial abuse between a father and his teenage daughter.
It is said Leonardo da Vinci abused the young students in his care – has anyone suggested his work should not be seen on this basis?
Our art historical expertise is probably too niche to be able to make comment on this. As far as we know da Vinci never visited Ditchling.
Will you be devoting any of your profits from this exhibition to any charities working with the victims of abuse? If not, don’t you think you should?
As a register charity we do not collect money on behalf of other charities but we are working closely with charities who work with people who have been abused. We hope that these will be long-lasting relationships with these charities and we would be more than happy to help them in their fundraising.
Aren’t some of Gill’s work simply frightening and upsetting? Shouldn’t your exhibits be uplifting and joyous?
The works on display are not frightening but the stories behind them might well be upsetting it is for this reason that we think correctly interpreting the works is necessary. Not all art is to be enjoyed; some art is powerful for other reasons. Many people still do enjoy Gill’s work as wonderful examples of many craft forms and that many of Gill’s depictions of the body are very beautiful and uplifting.
How do the women on the staff of the Museum feel about this exhibition? The Women’s Views on News website talks about ‘moral blindness’ surrounding Gill’s work today?
The staff team have worked closely together on developing this exhibition, and have absolutely not been morally blind in developing this exhibition. With any one member of the team, on any one day, I am sure we all feel different about Gill and particular works. This is why it felt appropriate to curate an exhibition such as this so that each work displayed is approached with the same question in mind: is the biography affecting my enjoyment and appreciation of the work. Sometimes the answer may be yes, at other times, it may be no.
Isn’t it true that Gill’s daughters did not regard themselves as ‘abused’? They are reported as having normal happy and fulfilled lives and Petra at almost 90 commented that she wasn’t embarrassed by revelations about her family life and that they just ‘took it for granted’. Aren’t we all perhaps making more of this than the people affected?
Elizabeth was no longer alive when Fiona McCarthy’s book was published, and those who met Petra certainly record a calm woman who managed to come to terms with her past abuse, and still greatly admired her father as an artist. I don’t think that we should try to imagine her process to reaching this acceptance as we know too little about her own experiences.
If you had bought a picture by Rolf Harris before revelations about his behavior came out, would you keep it or sell it?
We hope the exhibition will generate debate around these kinds of questions. I personally am not that familiar with Rolf Harris’s work as an artist so I am afraid I couldn’t comment further.
