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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 June 2016
Founded in 1976, Art monthly is Britain’s oldest contemporary art magazine. It is impossible, and perhaps even unwise, to try to account for the magazine’s longevity, but a contributing factor may be the high degree of continuity between the past and present that is reflected in the loyalty of Art monthly’s readership and of its writers and regular contributors. This does not mean that the magazine has not changed at all; on the contrary. That Art monthly has adapted and responded to shifts in the art world over the years is reflected, for instance, in the large number of student subscribers to the magazine. However, change has been introduced gradually and in a manner in keeping with the founding ethos of the magazine. This is what is meant by ‘the gentle art of staying the same while changing utterly’ – the subheading for this article, and of the talk on which it is based.
1. The ‘Editorial Note’ was written by Peter Townsend, but this was not repeated in future issues and there was no editorial as such. Townsend contributed some endnotes as well as writing for the news section, ‘Artnotes’, but otherwise wrote very little having, regrettably, more or less given up writing for publication, despite all the best efforts of his colleagues, myself included, to persuade him to do so.
2. An exception was the special 200th edition in October 1996; in order to include newly commissioned contributions from as many of the original contributors as possible, the number of pages exceeded the limit possible for the magazine to be stapled.
3. Seth Siegelaub has been twice interviewed in Art monthly, see Art monthly, no.122 (1988-89) republished in Talking art: interviews with artists since 1976 (London: Art monthly and Ridinghouse, 2006), 290-300 and more recently, in Art monthly, no. 327 (June 2009): 1-5 and Art monthly, no. 328 (July/August 2009): 11-13.
4. Happily Wendler will continue to be publisher of Art monthly.
5. Dematerialised: Jack Wendler Gallery 1971 to 1974, curator, Teresa Gleadowe, Chelsea Space, May 13 to June 13, 2009. It is fitting that the show was curated by Teresa Gleadowe because, as well as writing regularly for Art monthly, she was present at that crucial meeting in the Museum Tavern. Also present was Charles Harrison, the art historian, Art & language collaborator and sometime contributor to Art monthly (who was also assistant editor of Studio international from 1966 to 1971 and a contributing editor from 1972 to 1975), who sadly died in August this year. An obituary is included in the September 2009 issue of the magazine.
6. The crucial role played by Barbara Reise, an American art historian who moved to England in 1966, and who was a contributing editor of Studio, has not received the attention it deserves. Unfortunately, a project initiated by Jack Wendler and Liam Gillick, back in c. 1992, that would have redressed this came to nothing. Reise took her own life in 1978.
7. Wendler stepped down as editor in 1991.
8. I was kindly invited to be the ARLIS AGM guest lecturer, 2009, by my colleague at the University of Westminster, Sally Bannard.
9. Clement Greenberg was later interviewed at length for the magazine by Harrison, Charles and Evans, Trish in Art monthly, nos.73, 74 and 75 (February, March, April 1984), reprinted in Talking art, 185–214 Google Scholar.
10. Margaret Garlake wrote regularly on the salerooms, though not in the first issue.
11. While this might be expected, given the editors’ own background, it was also intended as a counterpoint to Artscribe magazine, which had been launched the year before. Now sadly defunct, the magazine was very much biased towards painting, being largely written by painters for painters as well as being, at least in the beginning, edited by painters.
12. Art monthly, no.164 (March 1993): 16-17.
13. Re-reading Clive Phillpot’s article is a sobering experience: not only were there so few magazines but of the main magazines listed, Studio international and Artscribe are no more. Audio arts has recently wound up its operation while Arts review has been reconfigured as Art review. The situation is much healthier today, reflecting the much higher profile contemporary art now enjoys, as well as the different art constituencies that coexist.
14. Liam Gillick reviewed Michael Craig-Martin’s retrospective at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in the double issue, Art monthly, no.132 (December 1989/January 1990): 20-23.
15. Geoff Jenkins had previously been responsible for the layout.
16. Later the issue number was added, a detail that those who, like me, like to photocopy or download articles for research purposes, will appreciate.
17. Archer’s tenure at Artscribe was all too brief: the magazine had been bought out by a company called Hali Publications, whose editorial priorities were very different from those of the founding editors. It was Archer’s decision to leave. Fortunately, Garlake and Archer continued to write for the magazine.
18. Jack and Nell Wendler, meanwhile, who divided their time between the US and the UK, were due to return to the US for the Christmas period, as was their wont. Fortunately, there was some continuity since Letty Mooring (who has recently stepped down as managing editor but who is still, thankfully, in charge of production) had returned to work on the magazine a couple of months earlier after a brief sojourn in Arizona.
19. In April 1992 Townsend was offered the post of editor-in-chief of Art monthly which he refused; he continued to edit Art monthly Australia until 1997 when he returned to live permanently in the UK. At my suggestion the post of editor was offered to Stuart Morgan, but he demanded drastic changes and a salary that Art monthly simply couldn’t afford. We remained on good terms, however, and he continued to write for the magazine until his untimely death on August 28, 2002.
20. Cara Gallardo Weil of Area still supervises the design of the magazine including all leaflets, cards and posters; layout is by Beverley Jackson. Mark Thomson later designed the Art monthly interview book, Talking art referred to above, bringing his intimate knowledge of the magazine to bear on a design that is totally in keeping with the clean and clear Art monthly aesthetic.
21. From an all-time low of 800 sales in 1989-90, Art monthly now sells up to 5500 copies, though the full effects of the present recession have yet to be seen. In line with its remit to engage directly with its readers, Art monthly has extended and diversified its activities through its website (http://www.artmonthly.co.uk), the Art monthly Roadshow programme of talks and panel discussions, and the ongoing series of live interviews, ‘Talking art’ in collaboration with Tate Modern. There is also a regular Art monthly radio programme in the first week of every month in collaboration with Resonance FM in which writers discuss issues raised by their features in the current issue.
22. The term yBa derived from the series of Young British Artists shows held at the Saatchi Gallery, beginning in March 1992; it is seldom noted that in fact, very few of the artists who later became associated with the term were actually included in the shows.
23. ‘Sense & sensation,’ Art monthly, no.211 (November 1997): 1-6.
24. By a sad coincidence, Nell Wendler had died in October, 2003. Sadly, too, Peter Townsend died in July 2006, three months before the 300th issue was published. His colourful life and brilliant career as an editor was deservedly remembered and celebrated in the September issue of Art monthly, no.299 (September 2006): 14-16. This was also the occasion for Art monthly to say a fond farewell to Andrew Wilson who, after nine years as deputy editor, left to become curator of modern and contemporary British art at Tate.
25. It is impossible to mention everyone who has helped to keep the Art monthly flag flying, but I would like to mention everyone not already mentioned who is on the present team, all of whom contribute so much more than their official designations suggest: associate editor, David Barrett; editorial assistant, Chris McCormack; advertising manager, Matt Hale; subscriptions and distribution, Brendan Fan; listings, Chris Rawcliffe; proof-reader Penny Williams and indexer, Penny Butler.