Julian Spalding’s Followers (4)

Julian Spalding

Born

The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.julianspalding.net/

Twitter

JulianS1947

Genre

Arts & Photography, Nonfiction

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I was born in 1947, and brought up on a council estate in St Mary Cray, on the fringes of South London. My upbringing made me acutely aware of the inequalities unfairly imposed by class and wealth, and of the effects of cultural deprivation on people’s lives.

I studied art history at Nottingham University and art at Nottingham Art College, where I regrettably allowed my love of and talent for watercolour painting to be crushed by the rigorous exercises of modernism.

I made objects in plastic and, among other things, designed an acrylic ‘Rainbow Clock’ which went into production, and was selected by the Design Council. But I felt I didn’t have enough to say to become a full-time creative artist. Nor did I want to become an academic lecturer, I was born in 1947, and brought up on a council estate in St Mary Cray, on the fringes of South London. My upbringing made me acutely aware of the inequalities unfairly imposed by class and wealth, and of the effects of cultural deprivation on people’s lives.

I studied art history at Nottingham University and art at Nottingham Art College, where I regrettably allowed my love of and talent for watercolour painting to be crushed by the rigorous exercises of modernism.

I made objects in plastic and, among other things, designed an acrylic ‘Rainbow Clock’ which went into production, and was selected by the Design Council. But I felt I didn’t have enough to say to become a full-time creative artist. Nor did I want to become an academic lecturer, spending my life in darkened rooms with slides. So I chose to work in museums and galleries, where art and people meet.

I worked in museums in Leicester and Durham before becoming director of galleries for Sheffield, and then Manchester. In 1989 I was appointed director of Glasgow Museums, responsible for twelve institutions, including Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the Burrell Collection - by far the largest local authority museum service in Britain, and bigger than most of the nationals. I enjoyed working for local authorities, and the opportunities this gave me to be responsive to local communities.

I established several award-winning, innovative galleries and museum services. These include the Ruskin Gallery in Sheffield, devoted to the teachings of John Ruskin, and in Glasgow, the St Mungo Museum of Religious Art and Life, the world’s first public museum of comparative religion; the Gallery of Modern Art, a radical rethink of international modern art (ruthlessly reduced and conceptualised since my departure); and the Open Museum, a ground-breaking service which opens museum stores for community use.

Through trial and error I evolved new approaches for museums and galleries, to enable them to improve what they offer their public, a practical philosophy later outlined in my book The Poetic Museum (see Books).

However, my career was truncated before I had fully realised an exemplar poetic museum, which I planned to do by recreating the Victorian encyclopaedic museum in 21st century terms within Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum . In 1999 my post, along with the directorships of Libraries, Performing Arts, Recreation and Sport, was abolished by Glasgow City Council, and replaced by a leisure management system.

I spent a year as a researcher at the National Museum in Copenhagen, and I have over the years advised on museum development in several other countries, giving keynote addresses at museum and art gallery conferences in the USA, Canada, The Netherlands, Sweden and Russia.

In 2000, as Master of the Guild of St George (an educational charity established by John Ruskin), I established the nationwide and now international Campaign for Drawing, to raise awareness of the value of drawing in art, in education and in daily life.

As a broadcaster, I have been a regular contributor to Today, PM, Start the Week, Front Row and other programmes on BBC Radio 4, Radio 3 and Radio Scotland. I have also made programmes including a series of interviews with artists for Radio 3’s Third Ear. My television appearances include a short film on the future of the British Museum which I wrote and presented for BBC 2’s Newsnight, as well as numerous contributions to arts, news and current affairs programmes on the BBC and independent channels.

In 2001 I began to devote myself chiefly to writing. ...more

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Julian Spalding’s books

Average rating: 3.9 · 186 ratings · 28 reviews · 22 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Best Art You've Never Seen: 101 Hidden Treasures from Around the World 4.09 avg rating — 58 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Con Art - Why you ought to sell your Damien Hirsts while you can 3.85 avg rating — 39 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Eclipse of Art: Tackling the Crisis in Art Today 3.65 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 2003 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Poetic Museum: Reviving Historic Collections 3.76 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2002 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Art of Wonder: A History of Seeing 3.93 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2005 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Realisation-from Seeing to Understanding: The Origins of Art 3.45 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Art Exposed 3.25 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lowry really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1979 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Modern and Post War British and Irish Art : Sotheby's London Wednesday 22nd June 1994 liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fragments against ruin: A journey through modern art 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Julian Spalding (?)

“The condensed truth is that all art is conceptual, but conceptual art is a con. What really separates Michelangelo from Damien Hirst is that Michelangelo was an artist and Damien Hirst isn’t.”
― Julian Spalding, Con Art - Why you ought to sell your Damien Hirsts while you can

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Julian Spalding’s Followers (4)

Julian Spalding

Combine EditionsJulian Spalding’s books

Combine Editions
Julian Spalding’s books