{"id":23361,"date":"2024-03-25T21:14:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T20:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=23361"},"modified":"2024-07-10T11:06:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T10:06:00","slug":"brushes-to-bytes-piper-and-whistlers-time-bridging-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/brushes-to-bytes-piper-and-whistlers-time-bridging-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"Brushes to Bytes: Piper and Whistler\u2019s Time-Bridging Exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Rex Whistler, Self-Portrait, 1934, Wikipedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While art may not always adhere to order or logic, this narrative demands <\/span><\/span>them<\/span><\/span>. In 1926, Rex Whistler, <\/span><\/span>then <\/span><\/span>a 21-year-old artist (not to be confused with the one known<\/span><\/span> for portraying his mother so well<\/span><\/span>), received an extraordinary commission for an art student: to <\/span><\/span>decorate<\/span><\/span> the walls of the Tate gallery<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s restaurant. Seemingly drawing inspiration<\/span><\/span> from Poussin, Fragonard, and Bellini, he selected a theme that could be characterized as a <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>phantasmagorical odyssey across diverse locales and architectural wonders<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>He crafted sketches and, over 18 months, translated onto canvas a rich tapestry of characters, <\/span><\/span>details<\/span><\/span>, and a plethora of flora and fauna.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats, detail of mural. Wikipedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For nearly a century, the mural remained largely unnoticed except by art aficionados<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> and, perhaps, <\/span><\/span>visitors<\/span><\/span> of the <\/span><\/span>restaurant, named after<\/span><\/span>Whistler<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> That is until public scrutiny fell upon minute segments of the piece. One fragment depict<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> a <\/span><\/span>cheerful<\/span><\/span> blonde <\/span><\/span>leading a<\/span><\/span> Black boy <\/span><\/span>with<\/span><\/span> a rope under the watchful eyes of his <\/span><\/span>kin<\/span><\/span>, who, for some reason, has climbed a tree; while another showed Chinese figures in a markedly stereotypical fashion. The<\/span><\/span>se scenes, <\/span><\/span>mere centimeters in a vast mural, have ignited controversy<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>O<\/span><\/span>nce <\/span><\/span>noticed<\/span><\/span>, they cannot be unseen<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u2019 <\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>s remarked<\/span><\/span> by <\/span><\/span>museum director Alex Farquharson<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Keith Piper. Photo: Joel Chester Fildes; Courtesy: a – n The Artists Information Company\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2020, due to Covid-19, the restaurant<\/span><\/span> at Tate Britain<\/span><\/span> closed<\/span><\/span> its doors. <\/span><\/span>By 2022, plans were revealed to complement Whistler<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s Hall with a piece by multidisciplinary artist Keith Piper. On March 12, 2024, the <\/span><\/span>space<\/span><\/span> reopened, now showcasing a duo of artistic expressions. <\/span><\/span>What<\/span><\/span>did Piper <\/span><\/span>contribute<\/span><\/span>? He created a two-channel video installation <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Viva Voce,<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>stag<\/span><\/span>ing<\/span><\/span> a dialogue between Rex Whistler and a modern-day researcher of his work, <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>professor<\/span><\/span> Shepard<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>(a discourse possibly conjured in the latter<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s imagination, overworked with archival documents). The exchange starts innocuously, with queries about the mural<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s origins, Whistler<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s social <\/span><\/span>circle<\/span><\/span>, and his artistic inclinations, until a decisive gesture from Shepard brings a controversial figure into focus. <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>A little humor<\/span><\/span> never hurts,<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>quips Whistler. Over the next 10 minutes, Shepard <\/span><\/span>schools<\/span><\/span> the artist <\/span><\/span>on racism, dissecting his latent biases and challenging the notion that he was oblivious to the true appearance of African individuals, suggesting an intentional farce in their portrayal. The narrative escalates as Edith Olivier,<\/span><\/span> also<\/span><\/span> resurrected from history, <\/span><\/span>reads her<\/span><\/span> pamphlet<\/span><\/span> (<\/span><\/span>possibly written by Whistler<\/span><\/span>himself)<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>dense<\/span><\/span> enough that only the most <\/span><\/span>ardent<\/span><\/span>historical enthusiasts or those of exceptional intellect could comprehend it. <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Viva Voce<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>culminates with footage of World War II, where Whistler volunteered and died in 1944.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>
Keith Piper,\u00a0Viva Voce, 2024. <\/span><\/span>Photo \u00a9 Tate (Joe Humphrys)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Should we now seek insight from Keith Piper regarding the <\/span><\/span>message<\/span><\/span> behind his <\/span><\/span>creation<\/span><\/span>? (<\/span><\/span>It<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>well-known<\/span><\/span> that<\/span><\/span> Picasso <\/span><\/span>would<\/span><\/span> shoot blanks at those who <\/span><\/span>dared<\/span><\/span> such questions<\/span><\/span>.)<\/span><\/span> Tate, bound by the responsibility to preserve historical artifacts, was neither in a position to dismantle Whistler<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s heritage nor to let it stand unaccompanied by<\/span><\/span> modern commentary. The solution, emblematic of institutional practice, was to commission another artist to recontextualize history. Piper, in this capacity, serves as an interpreter<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>or perhaps a provocateur<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>of bygone eras, their deep-seated stereotypes, and prejudices, albeit through a lens that is as conventional as the work he critiques. It<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s fascinating to ponder that <\/span><\/span>should<\/span><\/span> \u201c<\/span><\/span>Viva Voce<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>be enshrined permanently at Tate, it might inspire future artists to layer yet another interpretation, this time <\/span><\/span>upon<\/span><\/span>Piper<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s own narrative.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a three-year hiatus, Tate Britain has unveiled Rex Whistler\u2019s mural \u2018The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats,\u2019 following intense debates and consultations on the artwork\u2019s future\u2014whether to dismantle, maintain, reinterpret or conserve it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":23362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"type_post":[184],"column":[],"class_list":["post-23361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23361"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=23361"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=23361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}