The Triumph of Art - not

Why Jeremy Deller's big plan for the National Gallery is misplaced

He’s a clever fella, that Jeremy Deller. I first came across him in 2001 at the Battle of Orgreave, his life size recreation of the confrontation between miners and the police during the 1984-85 miners strike in a field outside Sheffield. It was a strange event. We arts correspondents were transported up from London in a coach, in order to witness this modern day version of the English Civil War, including horses. The thing I most remember is London-based journalists wandering around in a state of shock as they looked at the prices of local houses in the windows of estate agents. Given the aims of Deller’s work, I think that was a relevant, if slightly distasteful, activity.

Since then, he has had an acclaimed career, not least with his live commemoration of national events; a touring show of British folk art, a procession through Manchester, and a 1:1 inflatable Stonehenge to salute the London 2012 Olympics.

July 1, 2016

Most poignant was his 2016 work We’re Here Because We’re Here, commemorating the anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916. 1,600 young men were dressed in replica First World War uniforms and appeared at railway stations, shopping centres and other public spaces. Each represented an individual soldier who had died on that day. Each had a card in his pocket detailing the name, rank and place of death for that soldier.

So Deller seemed a great, imaginative choice by the National Gallery’s as a person to mastermind the closing of its 200th anniversary year. On seeing the detail, however, it all seems a bit ho-hum. The Triumph of Art will take over Trafalgar Square on July 26^th. Drawing on British folkloric traditions “such as the British fondness for tea and cake”, (says The Art Newspaper), this will be a “family friendly celebration with contributions from all four nations.” According to Deller, the event will essentially be a free fete with live music. So much like, er, quite a lot of other things that have gone on here before. Like a celebration for the Girl Guides in 2010. Or what happens every year on the evening of December 31.

Not so, according to the National Gallery. The Triumph of Art will be “a celebration of creativity…which can only be truly experienced live, eventually becoming its own mythology in the memories of those who were present. The project is really the first of its kind in the UK,” says curator Emily Stone, sounding as if she has been under one for the last two decades. I can think of any number of events which fall under this description, not least the opening of the London Olympics and Paralympics in 2012. In fact, the UK is now a global expert in live, memorable events which “become their own mythology”.

Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008

How about the opening of Liverpool 2008 European Capital of Culture? How about the whole year that was Hull 2017 City of Culture? There is even a special Royal subset of memorable days, ranging from Wedding to Funeral, with the odd Coronation thrown in for good measure.

In terms of the “four nations” concept, I give you the official description of UNBOXED, “a once in a lifetime celebration of creativity taking place across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.” Yes, the ill-fated “Brexit” Festival of 2022, for which Jeremy Deller (unsuccessfully) submitted a proposal. So maybe this is a recycled idea. Maybe.

I like Deller. I like his refusal to have a giant artistic ego, I like the way he works collaboratively and I admire his insistence on sharing his work free of charge. When he was chosen to represent Great Britain at the Venice Bienalle in 2013, he made two supporting prints on paper for his work in the British Pavilion. One was of a giant William Morris wading in the Venetian lagoon and trashing the superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, and the other was of a giant Hen Harrier trashing a Range Rover in Sandringham, where a pair of the protected birds had been shot (possibly by Prince Harry). Deller could easily have sold them for £1000 a pop. But he didn’t. He sat behind a desk in the Pavilion, giving them away.

“We sit starving amidst our Gold”, a furious William Morris depicted by Jeremy Deller

Yet I think The Triumph of Art shows Deller operating with an unusually tin ear. Art is not triumphing in the UK. It is in systematic decline. Since 2010, the number of arts GCSEs taken in England has fallen by 42%. Since the arrival of the EBacc, arts education generally in state secondary schools has declined alarmingly. According to data presented by the Arts Professional website, this shows “a stark picture of erosion and inequality”.

Galleries across the nations and regions are financially on their knees. Many of the brave new institutions put up with millennial zeal are close to closure. Tate has no reserves and this year, the Trustees submitted a deficit budget. It is hard to find evidence of any institutional support for galleries and collections across our country. Young people are not encouraged to visit them, and older people can’t afford to visit them.

As for the National Gallery itself, the visitor figures are dismal, 49% down from those in 2019. Bar tourists, visitors are overwhelmingly elderly and middle class. These are the people who know their Tinteretto from their Titian and who understand what is going on in this image below.

Belshazzar’s Feast, by Rembrandt. It’s in the National Gallery. What is happening?

This is because they know their Bible and they have been taught History of Art. I would surmise that the vast majority of the crowds whom Deller is hoping to engage have never been, and will never go to the National Gallery, no matter how many Tik Tok posts the Gallery valiantly puts out.

Rather than orchestrating a big day out which has zero relation to its actual mission other than a shared postcode, the National Gallery might have spent some of its £95 million budget earmarked for NG200 with a focused series of History of Art interventions at every state school across the UK. Looking at these pictures in particular might have been a start.

Some of the National Gallery’s treasures not being celebrated by Jeremy Deller

This could have been masterminded by Art History Link-Up which has been diligently bringing the study of Western art to state school students for over a decade. NG200 could have been a springboard for future audiences to the National Gallery. At this rate, by the next big birthday there might be no visitors at all.