‘Do it 20 13’: a study visit with a twist: performance art and an evening meal

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‘Do it 20 13’ is on at Manchester Art Gallery as part of Manchester International Festival and we plan a visit accompanied by OCA tutor and art expert Gerald Deslandes starting at 4pm on Thursday 18 July, breaking for a meal mid evening. This performance event is the latest version of a concept started in the 1990’s through which artists instruct other artists and/or the public to perform a series of written instructions in a gallery space. The show will be divided into two parts. The first part, the Active Room, will be co-ordinated by the sculptor, Richard Wentworth, and will contain instructions given by a range of artists including Ai Wei Wei and Peter Saville.
The second space, the Homage Room, will contain performance works that have been devised by artists in tribute to earlier artists. This room will contain a piece by Tracey Emin in homage to Louise Bourgeoise and one by Sarah Lucas made in honour of Franz West.
The third and fourth rooms contain documentary pieces. One of these will focus on archive and ephemeral work by Leon Golub and Nancy Spero from previous shows that have embraced the concept and the final space which will contain videos by Gilbert & George, Yoko Ono and others.
This study visit will also provide a chance to explore an exhibition from Manchester Art Gallery’s permanent collection supplemented by loans from the Arts Council, which charts the pioneering role that painters such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and David Hockney played in the reinvention of figurative art in the second half of the 20th century. Many of this group of figurative painters were to be found drawing in the National Gallery when not in their studios. They studied the art of the Renaissance and of Impressionism as well as pre-war British paintings by Walter Sickert, David Bomberg and the realists of the Euston Road School. During the visit there will also be an opportunity to look at some of these earlier works from between the wars. For a place on this unusual visit please email enquiries@oca-uk.com
(Image is of Sculptor Richard Wentworth)