Image: Jamal Penjweny Saddam is Here 2009-2010 Courtesy the artist and RUYA Foundation
Could there be a gallery more perfectly and aptly named than Ikon, Birmingham’s contemporary exhibition space? How the moniker was born is explained by one of the ‘official’ founder members Robert Groves. He explained: ‘We had a meeting in order to decide on a name for the organisation. We all turned up with suggestions, such as ‘New Birmingham Gallery’ and ‘Image’. ‘I was particularly interested in Russian or Greek – eastern orthodox – ikons, and thought well ‘Ikon’ is a lovely word. It means image and you get a four letter word that divides beautifully. When I mooted it the others said ‘Oh no, no really, no, not having any of that …’ After a few more beers everyone else’s suggestions were shot down and they said ‘Oh well, I suppose it will have to be Ikon then’.
That was in the swinging, idealistic world of 1964. Now the gallery is celebrating its half century with a major exhibition. The idea for a gallery came, unsurprisingly, as an antithesis to the exclusivity of art establishments at the time and was initially conceived as a ‘gallery without walls’ and a realistic view of art’s place in society.
Alongside Groves as the founders are Jesse Bruton, Sylvani Merilion and David Prentice but there were contributions from many others including Peter Berry, Trevor Denning, Dinah Prentice and John Salt. Ikon’s first home was in a glass-sided kiosk in the Bullring shopping centre, hence the ‘gallery without walls’.
Since then, Ikon has had many homes around the city centre, including the Pallasades shopping centre. Brindleyplace home in 1998, converting the former Victorian school into a contemporary gallery space now welcoming over 130,000 visitors a year.
The key events of the celebrations include:
Ikon Icons features works by five key British artists who have exhibited at the gallery in the past five decades. There is work by photorealist John Salt; filmmaker Ian Emes renowned for his work with Pink Floyd; sculptor Cornelia Parker’s Thirty Pieces of Silver; Yinka Shonibare’s mixed media works exploring colonialism, and Julian Opie, sculptor and painter. Ikon 1980s is a comprehensive selection of paintings, sculpture, installation, film and photography including the work of Helen Chadwick, Dennis Oppenheim, Vanley Burke, Sean Scully and Susan Hiller.
A Real Birmingham Family is the unveiling, later in the year, of Gillian Wearing’s sculpture outside the Library of Birmingham. It is the result, in bronze, of her quest to find a ‘real’ family from the city. From over 370 nominations, a judging panel chose the Jones family – two sisters and their sons – to be the subjects of this new commission. The sculpture of Roma and her sister Emma, along with their young sons Kyan and Shaye, will celebrate the everyday and the unsung and be a lasting memorial to the people of Birmingham. However, £100,000 is needed to fund Gillian Wearing’s bronze sculpture of A Real Birmingham Family. Those who donate £250 or more will automatically become a Friend of the Family and will be acknowledged in a published list of supporters. To donate please visit www.ikon-gallery.co.uk
Film and Photography will be celebrated with works by Kurdish artist Jamal Penjweny, including Saddam is Here consisting of twelve images of Iraqi people in familiar surroundings, each holding a lifesize picture of Saddam Hussein’s face in front of their own. For full details of the programme, go to ikon-gallery.org.
In other news…
Ink Pellet loves the idea of an art course in Fairground Art run by Joby Carter, who grew up on Carters Steam Fair, the world’s largest vintage travelling funfair. As a child he was fascinated by the paintwork on the rides, and so he pestered the signpainter Stan Wilkinson, to teach him how to paint. Stan was from the proper tradition of signwriting, using skills passed down from the 19th century.
The five-day intensive course will teach participants the basics of the fairground painting tradition, from lining and shading to scrolls, gilding, marbling, flamboyant painting, layout and design. The course, which costs £400 plus VAT, will be held in Joby’s paintshop at the Carters Steam Fair Yard, in White Waltham near Maidenhead. All materials, lunch and hot drinks are provided.
For more information and to book visit www. cartersentertainment.com or email Joby at info@ cartersentertainment.co