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Aubrey Williams

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Style

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In the early years of his artistic career, from the time he joined the WPAC up until the late 1950s, Williams paintings were primarily figurative. According to Donald Locke, a fellow Guyanese artist who attended the WPAC at the same time as Williams, his paintings during the WPAC were usually of pregnant female nudes, and his colours of choice were typically "pale, whiteish, yellows and browns" (69). When he first moved to London, Williams initially worked with pastels because he could not afford to buy paints. Locke described his work in the mid to late 1950s as "tinged" with a "Cubistic-Naturalism" that was common to young artists in the WPAC.(70)

While living in London and travelling in Europe in the mid-1950s, Williams was introduced to the most recent trends in European and American art through exhibitions at the Tate in London and elsewhere.(Brett, 29; Gooding, 37; Brett 2, 99) He was impressed and excited by an exhibition of German expressionist painting in London, and by the work of American abstract expressionist artists such as Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Barnett Newman, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko.(Araeen, 36/37?) He found a particular affinity with Arshile Gorky - whose work, he said, "fitted in some way with [his] own perception" - and with Roberto Matta. (Araeen, 36 and 44). He traced his affinity with Matta to a shared experience of colonialism: "It's the smell of the presence of the conquistadors. It's the smell of a loss, and a replacement of lesser than what was destroyed".(Araeen 44) These various influences had a significant impact on his artistic development in subsequent years.

From 1959 onward, Williams work became increasingly abstract and his style was frequently described by art critics as a form of abstract expressionism. (Locke, 71) While economic factors had originally limited the size of canvas he used, he gradually progressed onto ever-larger canvases, and from 1970 onward also painted a number of large murals. He used glazes and scumbling to create effects with his oil paints.(Bowen, 86) Following a period of self-questioning in the early 1970s, during which Williams worried that he was "only making paintings [...] like making wall furniture", he began to re-introduce figurative elements into his paintings—a stylistic change that is particularly visible in his The Olmec-Maya and Now series.

less connected to imitative objects and began to work in a form that was identified by some as abstract expressionism.(Carew, page?) In 1971 Bowen said that he used earthy and warm colours, and also used glazes and scumbling. He worked on increasingly large canvases, and moved onto murals which he said, in later years, he would work on more and more (Araeen, anyone else?). In the 1970s he had a doubt about Abstract Expressionism and began to question his work, re-introducing figuration, and also pursuing the symbolism of pre-Columbian art that ran through all his major series of his late works.

There has been a lot of debate about how to classify Williams work. While critics often describe his work as abstract expressionist, many critics have also questioned this term. Williams himself questions it. So have others. People note the combination of figurative and abstract work.

Themes

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FIRE - Locke notes this early on; it becomes a theme that relates also to themes of destruction and apocalpyse. Many critics notice the juxtapositions of the beautiful with the destructive. MUSIC is a theme that occurs early and is taken up in the Shostakovich series. Pre-Columbian begins as a fascination with their culture; it also becomes a question of warning.

Exhibition History and Collections

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In the UK he had his first exhibition in 1954. His first solo exhibition was at the New Vision Centre Gallery in 1959, shortly followed by another in 1960. His first major exhibition was in The Other Story. His main retrospective was at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1990. The Tate also held one. The October Gallery have run exhibitions of his work regularly since 1986.

His work appears in collections including: the Tate, October Gallery, ...

Reception

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Critics have questioned how much his exhibition history was influenced by racism. They have asked why he has not been exhibited alongside other artists, as part of restrospectives on post-war British art, or given central importance in major galleries.

Williams is widely regarded as having been overlooked and marginalised by the British ARt establishment. He was originally succesful but interest died off. Wainwright sees a colonial influence in reviews. He was given no major exhibitions, and neither was any of his work purchased until after his death. His work is not exhibited with or compared to contemporaries.

While Williams' work initially met with widespread enthusiasm and acclaim, the interest in his work died off very quickly.[Williams, Brett] Within his lifetime, the only time that which Williams' art was exhibited in a major, mainstream gallery was in 1989, at the Tate's The Other Story exhibition - that is, in an exhibition that was specifically designed to present the work of artists who had otherwise been sidelined in the history of British art.[Gooding, Brett] Compared with his piers, his work was infrequently exhibited and received little attention in the British art press.[?] Following Williams' death in 1990, the interest in his work gradually increased. Galleries such as the Tate, the Whitechapel Gallery and the ARts' Council all held retrospective exhibitions of his work; in 1990 the Tate purchased one of his artworks.

Since 1990 a number of critics have argued that Williams' work was unfairly overlooked and marginalised by the British art establishment during his lifetime. In addition to the lack [dirth] of exhibition opportunities, these critics note the fact that Williams was excluded from surveys of British art and his art was not purchased by the tate until after his death. While this situation has improved posthumously, critics such as Gooding, Chambers and Brett have argued that Williams' has still not received the recognition he deserves as a major post-war British artist.

there was no major exhibition of his art in any mainstream pulic gallery apart from the Tate's The Other Story (1989) - an exhibition that was especially designed to represent artists that had been otherwise marginalised in British art. except, and none of his artworks were purchased by ***. Equally, none of his paintings were purchased by the Tate. After his death in 1990, critical interest in Williams' work gradually increased: some pieces were bought, and he had his first major exhibition. For critics such as Guy Brett, Reynahn King, Leon Wainwright, Ed Chambers and Mel Gooding, Williams work has been unfairly overlooked and marginalised by the British art establishment. Brett and Chambers, for example, both argue that Williams' work is still not considered as a part of British post-war art (or - has still not been given the reognition he deserves as a major post-war British artist. These critics note that compared to contemporaries such as *** and ***, Williams received few exhibitions and critical attention. They also note that he was rarely exhibited as part of British exhibitions, or alongside his contemporaries. These critics have pointed not only to the lack of exhibitions in, and purchases by, the major mainstream galleries such as the Tate during Williams' lifetime, but also to the fact that Williams' work was not included in any of the major surveys of modern British art that took place during his life.[Mel Gooding]


STUFF FOR SECTION ON ART

Brett says 'some of the most powerful paintings in post-War britain' - this intro is not by brett in fact. It is also useful for describing New Vision... Brett says he was never considered to be part of British art... Brett says Williams was influenced by modern AMerican and Latin American art: Gorky especially, Pollock, Riviera etc ... he says he is isolated from British counterparts... He suggests comparisons with Lanyon and Davie... He talks about pre-Columbian iconography...

Wainwright notes that early responses to his work had a very colonialist tone (exotic, anachronistic etc)... He focuses on this history of 'Revolt' (how people refused to exhibit it). He links it to the Berbice Slave Uprising and to AUbrey's self-depiction... He notes the theme of the flame/fire... He notes the importance of empty/abstracted areas...

Williams (conversation with Araeen) says that he was influenced by Abstract Expressionism - German, American. He stresses the pre-Columbian... and he also acknowledges the theme of fire... He says he draws parallels between Maya mistakes and what he sees happening... He underscores Matta as well... They talk about the apocalyptic ... He talks too about frustration with canvas size...

Online References fro Grenada 17

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Online References for Makushi...

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> Remember Shulinab (GY)

Notes from other sources

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Read more: Makushi - History and Cultural Relations http://www.everyculture.com/South-America/Makushi.html#ixzz21Xryx7o0

Section

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WikiProject suggests:

  • The meaning and origin of the name, alternative names, especially autonym
  • Population
  • Regions where they live (with a map, if possible): countries, provinces, etc.
  • A history section
  • Details about this people as of modern day, unless they are extinct
  • Society structure, including contemporary government or leadership
  • Economic development and subsistence
  • Culture
  • Language(s)
  • Traditional religion or spiritual beliefs, as well as any adopted religions
  • Famous or notable people
  • External links, in particular ones maintained by members of the particular group


Stuff about AAA to be transcluded (maybe) in AAA article...

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On October 31, 2007, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) published a statement opposing HTS as an "unacceptable application of anthropological expertise".[1][2][3] The statement argued that HTS personnel would have responsibilities to the U.S military working in war zones that would conflict with anthropologists' duty, as outlined in the AAA Code of Ethics (Section III, A, 1), to "do no harm to those they study".[2] It further maintained that, working in a war zone, HTS personnel would be unable to ensure the "voluntary informed consent (without coercion)" of those that they communicate with, as is also required by the AAA Code of Ethics (Section III, A, 4).[2]

In December 2008, the AAA Executive Board followed up their initial statement of disapproval by asking the Commission on Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Services (CEAUSSIC) to thoroughly review the HTS program.[4] CEASSUIC's "Final Report on the Army's Human Terrain Proof-of-Concept System" was released in December 2009.[5][6] The 74-page report argued that the "goals" and "basic identity" of HTS were characterized by "confusion", and that the program was designed to simultaneously perform multiple tasks that were, in fact, "potentially irreconcilable" i.e. serving as research function whilst also operating as "a source of intelligence" and a "tactical function in counterinsurgency warfare.[5][7] It added that this "confusion" would make it unclear to anthropologists whether they could follow the Code of Ethics or not.[5] The commission further maintained that HTS personnel would be unable to "maintain reliable control" over the information they collected, and that there was a "significant likelihood" that HTS data would be used "as part of military intelligence", which would place "researchers and their counterparts in the field in harm's way".[5] It also noted that if HTS were a research organization, "it would be required to comply with federal law for subject protection" and suggested that the fact that the program had avoided oversight by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) was "unusual".[8] In conclusion, the report stated: "When ethnographic investigation is determined by military missions, not subject to external review, where data collection occurs in the context of war, integrated into the goals of counterinsurgency, and in a potentially coercive environment - all characteristic features of the HTS concept and its application - it can no longer be considered a legitimate professional exercise of anthropology"; and it recommended that the AAA emphasize the incompatibility of HTS with [anthropological] disciplinary ethics and practice".[9]

In April 2012, the AAA restated their disapproval of the HTS program after a cover story article in C4ISR (a Defense News publication) claimed that "the controversy ha[d] cooled" and that HTS would have a recruiter at the annual AAA meeting in November that year.[10][11][12] The AAA denied both claims.[11]

Random page in category Guyana stubs

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference aaanet.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference AAAstatement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference MiddleEastOnline011908 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ForteA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c d CEAUSSIC (2009). Final Report on the Army's Human Terrain System Proof of Concept Program ([[PDF]]). AAA. {{cite book}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  6. ^ CEAUSSIC (14 October 2009). "Final Report on the Army's Human Terrain System Proof of Concept Program ([[PDF]])" (PDF). Retrieved 22 June 2012. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Glenn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Zehfuss was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ American Anthropological Association. "CEAUSSIC Releases Final Report on Army HTS Program". AAA. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hodges was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference C41SR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ AAA blog. "Anthropologists and the Human Terrain System". AAA. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
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