Hypnotic Rhythms – Frieze London 2021 –

I’ve arrived, wearing all black attire at Regents Park, hoping to be proved wrong. Armed only with the barcoded Frieze London guest pass in my iPhone holster, at the behest of Art Bible online whom commissioned
me to pen an article based on the question of ‘Innovation’, focused primarily on sculpture, assemblage and mixed media. Art Bible recognise that I am particularly interested in work that delves into the layered histories of place, international networks, public artworks and sculpture that interrogate the idea of the Artist as ‘The Bridge Builder’ within disparate and polarised communities. The challenge for me though, was to write an essay essentially about an art fair I’ve not visited in over 10yrs. To be fair, I wouldn’t have even considered going along, without the tantalising opportunity of having a free Frieze guest pass. My hand is up. Just being honest.

In my humble opinion, comfort zones and fixed absolutism are dangerous places for artists and I wanted to be proved wrong about an idea that has been ricocheting in my critical thought for some time now unchallenged and has contributed in my lack of interest in these mega, “Return of The Paris Salon” Art Fairs.

I wanted to be proved wrong; That there is no longer any innovation in contemporary art.

For many recent years, I’ve chosen in earnest to soak up and be a sponge, where I believe a flicker of hope resides: Design, Architecture, Technology, Music and modern free thinking philosophies. I have developed quite a penchant for graceful and elegant problem solving. But, alas I arrived in Frieze London preview night, complete in ninja assassin curator black garb, ready to be proved wrong, needing to be corrected and all my doubts set straight.

However, before I continue with my tale of contemporary art salvation…for the record, I am an unapologetic, post punk maverick heretic, breakdance rebel non-conformist and I do not bend, nor fold. This may come as a surprise, especially while examining my artist biography, but I have no interest in using “Activist/Activism” in any description of who or what I do as a contemporary artist. I am excited by innovative creative solutions and the creative value of dialogue, not by divisive polarising historical timestamping.

There, I said it. So with the utmost sincerest respect, please don’t petition an apology, for an opinion.

With the above caveats out of the way, lets return to my Frieze Redemption. The challenge was to first interrogate my own held interpretation of ‘innovation’ in context to contemporary art. Why was I seeking ‘innovation’ in contemporary art anyway? Is it some lost ‘Holy Grail’? Is it the process of making? Is it the choice and use of medium and/or material? Is it an idea or ideas? Is it new provocative art movements, instead of political/idealogical posturing? Is it within the choices institutions take when adding to their collections or which artists to exhibit?

Is ‘innovation’ even relevant anymore?

I mean, you cannot out Duchamp, Duchamp’s Fountain, take Manzoni’s Artist Shit out of its can, film another friend of Burden shoot him in the other arm during a performance or even re-animate modern advertising with screen printed Warhol inspired celebrity portrait multiples? So, before entering, readily cuffed with my Frieze C-19 Cleared wristband, I remember my inner sceptic whispering, “You are asking way too much from contemporary art right now brother. The cake is baked. It is what it is. A gig is a gig. here is a Market for Everything. Enjoy another spectacle of ‘Wow!’.”

Now, I really love artists. They are among my favourite people and in my ideal world, every living artist exhibited under that big white tent deserved their show to be completely sold out, or at the very least, one of their works purchased by an eager collector keen on repeat business. We are clearly not living in my ideal world. Therefore, it is not my intention to critique in this essay, work that did not press the right subjective/objective buttons. I was seeking a more general overarching analysis that would help deconstruct my questions around innovation in contemporary art and the lack thereof.

Cutting to the chase. I was proved wrong…and right.
Here’s how…

Much of my internal dialogue, when it came to the question of innovation, amounted primarily to conversations based on material, method and process. Yes, many art works are still displayed in frames, painted on canvas, collaged, made with plaster or ceramics, mounted on plinths, screen-printed and projected. Yet, a fair number of works did attempt to broker interesting conversations with their audience, albeit in very subtle ways while stretching the use of their medium to great lengths and adopting elements of science, technology and design. Ahmed Mater’s life size drone aircraft completely covered in sand, Gina Beavers large plaster reliefs depicting gigantic pouting botox injected lipstick covered lips (that interestingly attracted many with the same bionically engineered lips to take social media selfies in front of these huge protruding sculptures. Irony is truly wasted on some people). Josiah McElheny’s holographic sculptures that challenged your perceptions, Rachel MaClean’s elaborate singular booth of boxed pink dolls that promoted its own NFT, Angela Bulloch’s sound activated drawing machines and Matthew Darbyshire’s very gracile eco resin casts on shelves quietly portraying the inevitability of ageing for women.

Innovation is indeed alive and well! In The eyes of the gods of Art, I had been redeemed! The Tyranny of Internal Absolutism had been lifted. I had been proved incorrect in my assumptions…or so I thought…until I stumbled upon ‘The American Dream’ by Grayson Perry.

Now before you may enquire why I chose to highlight this high profile artist and his work, I am not some fawning fan of Mr Perry and/or his oeuvre, nor an agent for his gallerists. Although, in full disclosure we did meet once, way back in 2012, when I was invited by Historic Royal Palaces, during an Artist in Residence project at Kensington Palace, commissioned to respond to the oldest marble sculpture in that household. Grayson Perry was giving a keynote speech on collections wearing his very best drag costume regal
accessories at Banqueting House. We were introduced and he generously and very kindly imparted great advice to me in regards to responding to historical artefact. We also shared one thing in common that evening. He was the only man present at the event, that looked great in black high heels and I was the only black man in attendance that wasn’t serving canapés! I’m sure that time has changed, but the canapés were exquisite.

I chose to highlight Grayson Perry’s large scale tricolour etching ‘The American Dream’ because in my opinion, this work was the champion of the entire fair. It also perfectly illustrates how I was also ‘right’ about the lack of innovation in contemporary art. This is the only work in the fair that directly and objectively reflects the challenges that western culture now faces head on, without the need to apologise…for bringing the subject up! He obviously went down a deep and steep rabbit hole to gather every single cultural, political and idealogical western talking point and lexicon currently in use and displayed them using all manner of colliding battleships and airplanes to illustrate our culture war with its Sunlike Facebook Godhead of Mark Zuckerberg emitting all manner of Hypnotic Rhythmical division throughout the American landscape. Hypnotic Rhythm is a phrase first coined by American author Napoleon Hill in his 1938 conversational book ‘Outwitting The Devil’ how many are led to ‘drifting’ by ultimately not thinking for themselves.

How does and why is Grayson Perry seemingly the only artist allowed to continuously bite the hands that feed? No other artist in the building dared mention nor question, not even one of these myriad of themes outright in their work. It was as if, Perry’s etching was allowed to be the single conscience of the fair and in essence contemporary art. So, in that instance I realised that the lack of innovation in contemporary art is real. It is represented through the lack of the diversity of thought and free thinking. The lack of open questioning, open dialogue, open conversation and open listening. That is why I am of the belief that Perry’s large etching is the
standout champion artwork of Frieze London 2021.

I left Frieze London, holding uncomfortable vindication on one hand, while clutching cautious optimism with the other. That sceptical whispering voice returned with strange solace repeating, “It is What it Is. The Cake Is Baked. The Rhythms will Persist”. This time, I’ve chosen not to listen. I can only hope that this essay imparts a little courage within the reader, not to listen to the whispers of their internal censor, challenge to pioneer new dialogues and aid Grayson Perry, to be visually, no longer alone in the quest for fresh innovative communication within our contemporary arts.

Graeme Mortimer Evelyn is a London based multi media artist, musician and curator. His practice comments on cultural social identity, politics, belief and language, creating work for major municipal buildings, sites of national memory, places of worship, subverting settings and philosophies attracting new audiences to democratise public space. His works have been exhibited, collected, displayed by Princeton University Center for African American Studies NJ, Cornell University NY, Kensington Palace, The Royal Commonwealth Society, Museum in Docklands, Gloucester Cathedral, Bristol Museums, The Royal Collection Trust, Church of England and UNESCO. He has curated contemporary Jamaican film for Afrika Eye 2012 International Film Festival and co-curated the Arts Council England funded, Jamaican Pulse – Art & Politics From Jamaica and the Diaspora exhibition for the RWA Bristol in 2016, contributed to panel discussions on the role of public art for London Festival of Architecture, Virtual Migrants Arnolfini, Caribbean Curatorship and National Identity (Barbados) and ICF Curating The International Diaspora 2016 Gwangju Biennale, South Korea. In November 2017 Evelyn completed the major London Diocese commission, creating the largest permanent contemporary altarpiece
in Europe, The Eternal Engine, for St Francis Church in Tottenham Hale. Since Reconciliation Reredos Heritage Fund commission for Bristol’s St Stephen’s Church in 2011, Graeme Mortimer Evelyn remains the only UK / Caribbean heritage artist to complete two such unique permanent public art legacy works in Europe.
He is still currently working furiously in his newly constructed garden studio, completing vinyl album cover commissions for world
renowned Jazz Artists. Notably the album and final Dub mix 12inch vinyl covers for the late great Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s collaboration
with Swiss Jazz trombonist Samuel Blaser (2023 release) and the debut album for the acclaimed Ukranian Jazz Harpist Alina
Bzhezinska (2022 release). This article was a welcome distraction…

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