>>EXHIBITION
ThE INdIvIdUaL aNd
ThE ORgaNIsaTION:
aRTIsT PLacEmENT
gROUP 1966-79
Until 16 december Raven Row
gallery, London E1
Review by Herbert Wright
In the Sixties, the artist-inresidence in a non-artistic
organisation was unheard of
(precedents such as war artists
or Leeds University’s Gregory
Fellowship notwithstanding).
In 1965, artist Barbara Steveni
suggested
that
industrial
companies host and fund
artists, and a year later she
and fellow artist John Latham
set up the Artists Placement
Group to serenade British
industry with the serendipitous
proposition that it would gain
from the artist’s insights. A
few responded favourably,
resulting in not just an
alteration in the relationship
between art and society, but
also with works well ahead of
their time. APG is now largely
forgotten, but Raven Row’s
comprehensive retrospective
highlights
its
historical
significance, with lessons for
today. Its exhibition is heavy
on documentation, in particular
the correspondence between
APG and host organisations.
Early output is most striking.
For example, sculptor Garth
Evans was ‘placed’ with
British Steel 1969-70, and a
photography book, film and
his own sculpture resulted.
The film, shot outside at a
Greenwich steel works, is
wonderfully atmospheric. In
an industrial landscape strewn
with steel beams rusting
before our eyes on a damp
day, Evans discovers a readymade sculptur