Charles Thomson's blog

Petition to the British prime minister that he should not reappoint Serota as Tate director

Charles Thomson — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:07:15 +0100

I have started a petition to the British prime minister that Sir Nicholas Serota should not be reappointed as director of the Tate gallery. Details are below.

SIGN THE PETITION AT:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/tatedirector
You must be a British citizen or resident.

Important: Where it says "confirm email", you have to enter your email address again. Then click the "sign" button. A message should appear, saying you have been sent an email. When you get the email, it contains a link, which you have to click to validate your name. (If you don't get the email, check your bulk/spam folder.) Then check the petition, to make sure your name has appeared. Any problems, contact the epetitions team - email address on www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page50.asp

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to state that he will not give his approval to any reappointment of Sir Nicholas Serota as Director of the Tate gallery.

Sir Nicholas Serota was appointed as Director of the Tate gallery in 1988 on a seven year contract, renewed in 1995 and again in 2002. It expires on 31 August 2009, and the appointment of a Director for the next seven years must be decided by 31 August this year.

The appointment is made by the Tate Trustees with the Prime Minister’s approval, as stated in the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 (c. 44) 1992 CHAPTER 44, Schedule 2: The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery: 3 (1):

There shall be a Director of the Tate Gallery who shall be appointed by the Board with the approval of the Prime Minister

By law, it is therefore within the Prime Minister’s remit and powers to give or withhold approval. It is also within his remit and powers to state his intention in this regard.

Update on prosecution of artist Michael Dickinson in Turkey

Charles Thomson — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 04:59:37 +0100

Good Boy - by Michael Dickinson: The face is Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of TurkeyMichael Dickinson appeared in the Kadikoy 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, Istanbul on 8 October 2007, accused of insulting the dignity of the Turkish Prime Minister under Article 125 for displaying this collage.Â The case has been adjourned until 24 March. Conviction can result in up to two years' jail. There is a protest petition at http://www.mungbeing.com/petition.html

Jail for a collage - anonymous speaks out

Charles Thomson — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 17:50:50 +0100

â€œAnonymousâ€ has bravely and eruditely spoken out about my last post with these words (spelling as in the original):Â

About the post of Mr TompsonÂ When you live in a country you must respect its laws.If you dont like it you leave.In your post it is writen:Â Mr Dickinsonâ€™s case has already achieved international media coverage with coverage from UK national press including The Times and The Guardian. Â An I say thats why he did what he did.Artists need promotion.this is whay of getting it.Â

So there you have it. It doesnâ€™t matter what laws a country has, you must respect these laws.Â They can discriminate against minorities, or gender, or race.Â They can be repressive or exploitive, but they must be respected, because they are the laws of that country. The students in Tiananmen Square should not have protested â€“ they should have left the country. The monks currently demonstrating for democracy in Burma should leave the country.Â What a contemptible philosophy anonymous expresses.Â

Anonymous fails to address the fact that Turkey is a founding member of the United Nations, which has a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and that Turkey wants membership of the European Union. In September 2006 the European Parliament specifically called for the abolition of Turkish laws such as the one under which Michael Dickinson is being prosecuted, and "which threaten European free speech norms".Â Perhaps anonymous should advise Turkey to respect the laws of the European Union, if it wants to be member.Â

Anonymous also claims an intimate insight into Michael Dickinsonâ€™s motivations for creating his work.Â It would be revealing to hear how this conclusion has been arrived at.Â

Anonymous seems to have a very small heart and a very small brain.

JAIL FOR A COLLAGE?

Charles Thomson — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 02:52:47 +0100

Good Boy - by Michael Dickinson: The face is Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey

Michael Dickinson is due in court in Istanbul on Monday 8 October, under Article 125 of the Turkish penal code, for "insulting the dignity of the Prime Minister", after exhibiting a collage "Good Boy" (shown here).Â Conviction can carry a jail sentence of up to two years.Â I have written to Gordon Brown (letter below).Â There is a protest petition which you can sign on http://www.mungbeing.com/petition.html . The collage is on display at A Gallery, Â 154 Merton Hall Road, Wimbledon, London SW19.Â The galleryâ€™s director, Fraser Kee Scott, could also be prosecuted if he visited Turkey under Article 301. The collage can be seen on display at http://www.stuckism.com/AGalleryJuly07/IndexShow.html .

LETTER SENT TO GORDON BROWN

29 September 2007

Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP

Prime Minister

10 Downing Street,

London,

SW1A 2AA

Dear Prime Minister

I would like to ask for your intervention in the case of British artist Michael Dickinson, who lives in Istanbul, where he is due in court on 8 October under Article 125 on a charge ofÂ â€œinsulting the dignity of the Prime Ministerâ€ after displaying a collage. Conviction can result in a jail sentence of up to two years.

I enclose a copy of this collage, Good Boy, which depicts the Turkish Prime Ministerâ€™s head on a dogâ€™s body with a Stars and Stripes leash. This kind of satire is of course commonplace commentry in this country, and it is intolerable that a country applying for EU membership should censor freedom of political comment in this way.

A year ago, when he was arrested, Mr Dickinson was held for 10 days in a Turkish police station, in inhumane conditions. He reports that he could get virtually no sleep, with lights on twenty-four hours a day, thick cigarette smoke, Â loud music, shouting from policemen, and screams from prisoners being abused in the next room.

Mr Dickinsonâ€™s case has already achieved international media coverage with coverage from UK national press including The Times and The Guardian.

I trust you will communicate your strongest condemnation of this prosecution to the Turkish government, and ask for this case to be abandoned immediately. I ask forÂ your assurance that you will oppose TurkishÂ European Union membership, until Turkey adopts the attitudes of the civilised world towards freedom of speech and human rights.

Michael Dickinson is the Istanbul representative of the Stuckism International art movement.

Yours sincerely

Â Â

Charles Thomson

Co-founder, The Stuckists

Reply to anon's post re. Saatchi "can censor whoever he likes"

Charles Thomson — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:22:45 +0100

This is a reply to a post by anonymous, who said, "the stuckists are described as a thorn in the side of charles saatchi ...Â People do bear grudges you know, and this is his toy and he can censor whoever he likes.â€

Â Let's not jump to conclusions. There is no prior evidence that Mr Saatchi has excluded thorns from the site. About 30 Stuckist artists have work on YourGallery, the site covered the Stuckists show Go West http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/2006/08/the_first_west_end_show_for_th.php and Matt Price chose Stuckist artist Philip Absolon as critic's choice. http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/2006/07/your_gallery_critics_choice_by_1.php Â

There have been a number of rather uncomplimentary posts about Mr Saatchi and his motives on the forum discussions â€“ though not by me, I might add. I have gone on record there and elsewhere as praising him for a remarkable and pioneering project, as in this thread, â€œIs Saatchi just being very very cynical?â€, where I described the whole idea as â€œcourageous, enterprising and radicalâ€, and got told I was â€œSaatchiâ€™s right hand manâ€ and an â€œarse licker!â€ http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artforum/topic_view/topic/1982

The tolerance and opennesss of the site is very much in accord with the spirit of Web 2.0, and without it the site would not fulfil its potential. Â Therefore the disappearing blogs are not what one would expect.Â Cock-up is just as probable as conspiracy, since the site does experience some technical problems, as one might expect with such aÂ complex enterprise.Â

Ah, Iâ€™ve just written that and an explanation has been posted by admin: â€œOur apologies for blogs that are being deleted.We are having a problem with two of our servers that are squabbling,and we are experiencing the same difficulty in the forum.We are trying hard to sort this out.â€

Faith is restored, and it seems I have failed utterly to be censored. Â

For the record, I didnâ€™t take Charles Saatchi to court. I reported him to the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) for alleged breaches of the Competition Act. Their interesting Â conclusion was â€œwe do not have reasonable grounds to suspect that Charles Saatchi is in a dominant position in any relevant market.â€ http://www.stuckism.com/Saatchi/index.html

The full text of the anonâ€™s post was:

to charles thompson

by Anonymous

Â Come on charles, on the internet the stuckists are described as a thorn in the side of charles saatchi.Â Your art movement also in recent years took charles saatchi to court for monopolising the art world.Â People do bear grudges you know, and this is his toy and he can censor whoever he likes.Â

By Anonymous at 2007-09-29 05:42 | 's blog | add new comment

Is my blog being censored?

Charles Thomson — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:47:42 +0100

Curiously the two blogs below mysteriously vanished. I uploaded them again, and they vanished again.Â Now Iâ€™ve uploaded them for the third time. What is the explanation for this? Am I being censored?Â Â

Anticlimax, or the Rumours of Saatchidom: An Ode

Charles Thomson — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:39:08 +0100

Just in case the reference in my last post to G.K. Chesterton's marvellous poem, Antichrist, or the Reunion of Christendom: An Ode, wasn't clear enough, I've adapted it specially for the situation:Â Anticlimax, or the Rumours of Saatchidom: An Ode

(after G.K. Chesterton)

â€œShe became involved in the Stuckists group around that time, and married Charles Thomson, the universally perceived dodgy founder of the Stuckists movement.â€ â€“ Â

Anna Finel Honigman, introducing a discussion with Stella Vine on the Saatchi Gallery site.

Do the artists in their garrets,

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â surfing Ana,

Reiterate her thoughts like parrots?

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Do they, Ana?

Do the poets, when theyâ€™ve read

Â Such accomplished use of words,

Sit around and nod their head

Â â€œThomsonâ€™s dodgier than turdsâ€?

Do the actors in rehearsal

Â boom, â€œHeâ€™s got a dodgy manner,â€

Part too of the universal?

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Truly, Ana?

Single mums in tower blocks,

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Also, Anna,

Nightime workers in the docks,

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â As well, Anna,

Old guys strolling in the park

Â While their wives sit quietly knitting,

Soldiers back home from Iraq,

Â MPs in a late night sitting,

Couples striving for conception,

Â Mechanics heaving on a spanner,

Doubtless all share your perception,

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Donâ€™t they, Anna?

Does the average Utah miner,

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Get real, Anna)

Do a billion souls in China

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (each one, Anna)

And the generals ruling Burma

Â And the tribes round Alice Springs

Find some time each day to murmer

Â That they too perceive these things?

Does a merchant in Karachi

Â Mock a Stuckist protest banner

After he has praised Charles Saatchi?

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Well does he, Anna?

Starving children in Darfur,

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Surely, Anna,

With their dying breath concur,

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Donâ€™t they, Anna?

They donâ€™t let the fact intrude

Â That we sit here getting podgy

Stuffing what could be their food â€“

Â Now they know that I am dodgy.

I am sure your observation

Â Falls upon them all like manna.

Life needs no more explanation

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â After Anna.

Doubtless you have got your fee,

Nâ€™est-ce pas, Anna?

You know nothing though of me,

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Do you, Anna?

Maybe you could make enquiries,

Â As all journalists should do

(rumour has it there are diaries),

Â But as far as what is true

(this perceptionâ€™s not just mine)

Â Youâ€™d get more from Elsie Tanner

Than you would from Stella Vine.

So there, Anna!

Â Â

â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦

Â Â Â Another of my recent versifications,Â A Failing in My Head, about Sir Nicholas Serota, can be found at http://www.stuckism.com/Tate/OfiliFailingPoem.html#Poem

STELLA VINE IN CONVERSATION WITH ANA FINEL HONIGMAN

Charles Thomson — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:36:50 +0100

Stella Vine makes a window display at the Vote Stuckist show, Fridge Gallery, Brixton 2001: Photo by Elsa DaxSTELLA VINE IN CONVERSATION WITH ANA FINEL HONIGMAN

Ana Finel Honigman writes in the above article, that I am "the universally perceived dodgy founder of the Stuckists movement."Â I emailed her to ask "exactly what had led you to the conclusion of my dodginess, not to mention the universal perception of it."Â I am awaiting a reply.Â As Ana is undertaking a PhD in Art History at Oxford University, it will be interesting to see the research on which she has based her conclusion.Â Her remark is of course highly flattering, but I have to get it in proportion with a re-reading of G.K. Chesterton's AntiChrist, or the Reunion of Christendom: An Ode, which can be found at http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/8608/

Ana also says in her article, "Saatchi included the painting [of Princess Diana] in 'New Blood', along with a second painting by Vine of the deceased Rachel Whitear. Whitear's body was due for exhumation and her parents, accompanied by the police, arrived at the gallery to request that the painting not be exhibited. Saatchi had delegated to Vine the decision to keep the work on display or to withdraw it, and honored her decision not to remove the painting from the show."

Stella is trying hard, but this does not make her at all dodgy, merely honourable, alas.

The article says that Stella "became involved in the Stuckists group".Â There are photos of that important and influential time in her artistic development at http://www.stuckism.com/StellaVine/Salon.html .Â One which has recently come to light is shown above.

Read Ana Finel Honigman interview with Stella Vine at:

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/2007/07/stella_vine_in_conversation_wi.php