Stephen Willats

Infobox Artist


bgcolour =
name = Stephen Willats
imagesize =
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birthname =
birthdate = 1943
location = London
deathdate =
deathplace =
nationality = English
field = Conceptual Art, Social Practice
training = Ealing School of Art
movement = Social Practice
works = West London Social Resource Project

Stephen Willats (born London, 1943) is a British artist. He lives and works in London.

Stephen Willats is a pioneer of conceptual art. [ [http://www.britishcouncil.de/e/events/willats06.htm Stephen Willats - British Council Germany ] ] Since the early 1960s he has created work concerned with extending the territory in which art functions. His work has involved interdisciplinary processes and theory from sociology, systems analysis, cybernetics, semiotics and philosophy.

Works

His multi-media projects often engage visitors to participate in creative social processes. Notable projects include "Multiple Clothing" (1965-1998), "The West London Social Resource Project" (1972), and the book "Art and Social Function: Three Projects" (1976). Willats considers "Art and Social Function" as a "kind of manual or tool that would be relevant to any artist thinking of enacting different paradigms for an art intervening in the fabric of society".

His 1973 work "Meta Filter" consisted of pairs of participants seated at a computer, attempting to reach an agreement about the meanings of various images and statements. [http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=2147&page=1&sole=y&collab=y&attr=y&sort=default&tabview=bio Tate biography] ]

He has produced a number of extended projects working with residents of public housing estates across Europe. [Grant H. Kester, "Conversation Pieces: Community and Communication in Modern Art", University of California Press, 2004, p91. ISBN 0520238397] Examples include "Pat Purdy and the Glue Sniffers' Club" (1981-2), "The Kids are in the Street" (1981-2) and "Are You Good Enough for the Cha Cha Cha?" (1982), about, respectively, wasteland outside the Avondale estate in West London, a skateboard park near a Brixton housing estate, and a London punk music club. [Grant H. Kester, "Conversation Pieces: Community and Communication in Modern Art", University of California Press, 2004, p93. ISBN 0520238397] For "Brentford Towers" (1985) Willats worked with residents to map the interiors of their homes, identifying objects holding personal significance. [Grant H. Kester, "Conversation Pieces: Community and Communication in Modern Art", University of California Press, 2004, p96. ISBN 0520238397]

His works are held in the collections of the Tate, the National Portrait Gallery, [ [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp67219&role=art npg.org.uk] ] and the Henry Moore Institute. [ [http://www.henry-moore-fdn.co.uk/matrix_engine/content.php?page_id=1673 henry-moore-fdn.co.uk] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/eventseducation/talksdiscussions/stephenwillatsmultipleclothingmessageinteractionexchangetalk5079.htm Tate Modern: Talks & Discussions: MULTIPLE CLOTHING: Message, Interaction, Exchange: Stephen Willats]
* [http://www.victoria-miro.com/artists/4,biog/ Stephen Willats Biography at Victoria Miro Gallery]
* [http://www.variant.randomstate.org/4texts/Jane_Kelly.html/ Jane Kelly, Stephen Willats: Art, Ethnography and Social Change, Variant, Issue 4, Autumn 1997]
* [http://www.frieze.com/issue/review/stephen_willats/ Stephen Willats at Galerie Nagel, Cologne, Germany, Frieze, Issue 98, April 2006]
* [http://www.controlmagazine.org/ 'Control' Publication edited by Stephen Willats since 1965]

Persondata
NAME=Willats, Stephen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Willats, Stephen|Stephen Willats
SHORT DESCRIPTION=contemporary artist
DATE OF BIRTH=1943
PLACE OF BIRTH=London, England