Stuart Brisley

Stuart Brisley (born in 1933 in Haslemere, England) is widely regarded as the godfather of British performance art. Obtaining notoriety during the 1960s and 1970s, his work dealt with challenging the human body in a physical, psychological and emotional manner, and often used faeces as the subject or a material in the construction of his work. He has been a prolific writer, painter, performer, educator and contributor to the British arts scene and has recently helped form the UK Museum of Ordure.

In 1968, Brisley helped lead the Hornsey Sit-in, in protest of teaching practices common at British Art schools. This protest helped him gain a reputation for challenging norms, and his appointment as professor of Media Fine Art Graduate Studies at the Slade School of Art, part of the University College London, was and remains unique in that he was the only staff member to be appointed by the students alone. In 1976, Brisley initiated an archive of the living memories of the inhabitants of Peterlee in County Durham, a project which has recently been revived with the help of fellow artist Tim Brennan.

On 24 September, 2008, Brisley appeared as a lecturer at the 'Violence to Endurance: Extreme Curating' lecture at the ICA. While at the event he was the subject of an "artistic attack" by renowned shock artist Alexander Brener who exposed himself, defecated in his hand and put the excrement in Brisley's drinking glass during the event. Brisley reportedly left the panel. [cite web|url=http://www.spoonfed.co.uk/spooners/tom-699/lecture-violence-to-endurance-extreme-curating-at-the-ica-495/
title=Lecture: 'Violence to Endurance: Extreme Curating' at the ICA
publisher= Spoonfed
accessdate=2008-09-25]

Stuart currently lives in Spitalfields in the East End of London.

External links

* [http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=813&page=1&sole=y&collab=y&attr=y&sort=default&tabview=bio Stuart Brisley at the Tate gallery]
* [http://www.museum-ordure.org.uk/ Stuart Brisley at the UK Museum of Odure]
* [http://www.the-artists.org/ArtistView.cfm?id=68C64CF3-8CA9-4D7B-8EAA750480FD1921 Stuart Brisley at the-artists.org]
* [http://www.peterlee-project.com/ The Peterlee Project]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/timeshift/art-school.shtml BBC Four Time Shift - Art School and the Hornsey Sit-In]

References