Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard

Last updated

Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard
Born (1973-02-13) 13 February 1973 (age 50)
(1972-11-04) 4 November 1972 (age 50)
Bolton, Lancashire, England
Durham, County Durham, England
Nationality British
Education Goldsmiths College
Known for Video art
Notable workFile under Sacred Music, Silent Sound, Radio Mania, 20,000 Days on Earth
Movement Contemporary Art
AwardsWinner of Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) at British Independent Film Awards (2014), Shortlisted for Jarman Award (2014), winner of Golden Athena at Athens International Film Festival, winner of Sundance Directing Award (2014), Great North Run Moving Image Commission (2008), New Contemporaries (1997)
Website www.iainandjane.com

Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard are British artists and filmmakers. [1]

Contents

Life and work

Forsyth and Pollard met and began working collaboratively while studying Fine Art and Art Theory at Goldsmiths College, graduating together in 1995. They initially focused on live performance events, but since 2003 their work has been predominantly film and video based. They returned to Goldsmiths in 2002, receiving an MA degree in Fine Art in 2004. [2]

They have restaged David Bowie's farewell performance as Ziggy Stardust, a 1973 video work by Vito Acconci (working with rap artist Plan B) and a 1968 work by Bruce Nauman. [3] In 2003 the artists recreated the 1978 Cramps performance at the Napa Mental Institute at the ICA in a work entitled File under Sacred Music. [4] The work caused some controversy [5] by including an audience of patients undergoing psychiatric care. The musicians were assembled by Forsyth and Pollard for the project and included Alfonso Pinto from The Parkinsons as Lux Interior, Holly Golightly as Poison Ivy, former Headcoat Bruce Brand as Bryan Gregory and John Gibbs as longtime Cramps drummer Nick Knox.

Silent Sound, featuring an original score by J. Spaceman, was presented at the 2006 Liverpool Biennial. [6] The piece was originally presented as a live performance that took place in the Small Concert Hall at St. George's Hall, Liverpool. It was based, in part, on the public séance act performed by Victorian entertainers The Davenport Brothers. [7] During the performance the artists were seated on-stage inside a soundproof booth based on the Davenport's "Spirit Cabinet". Together they recited a single phrase into a microphone, which was fed into a machine they had created that claimed to embed the phrase as a subliminal message into the music, which was performed live by a small orchestra. The Davenport Brothers had performed their act on the same stage in 1865. [8] The performance was introduced by Ciarán O'Keeffe, a British parapsychologist who became famous after appearing as the resident skeptic on the paranormal television series Most Haunted. An installation of "Silent Sound" was then presented by A Foundation at Greenland Street, Liverpool. An ambisonic recording of the live performance was incorporated into a large-scale immersive installation, created in consultation with acousticians from Arup. The installation was recreated inside a shipping container in 2008 for Art Basel Miami Beach where it was described by the New York Times as "one of the fair's biggest word-of-mouth hits". [9] In 2010 Silent Sound was re-presented as part of the AV Festival at Middlesbrough Town Hall.

Begun while at college, their first project together was publishing "Words & Pictures" - an art magazine in a box. [10] Published three times per year from May 1994 until November 1997 each issue collected together objects made by 20 different artists into an A5 sized cardboard box, produced in a signed and numbered limited edition of 100 copies. A printed booklet was included that contained information on the contributors as well as a specially commissioned preface and introductory text. The first issue was launched at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, with a preface by Scottish singer/songwriter Momus and an introduction by artist and writer Liam Gillick. Artists contributing to the project included Martin Creed, Jeremy Deller, Matthew Higgs, Bob and Roberta Smith, Georgina Starr and David Shrigley. Writers for the project included Tracey Emin, Angus Fairhurst, Billy Childish, Jake Chapman, Billy Childish and Joshua Compston. Forsyth and Pollard ended the project after 10 issues, citing the influence of the British indie band Felt who released ten albums in ten years and then disbanded. [10]

In 2008 they directed the promo videos for the Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds singles Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, [11] "More News From Nowhere" and "Midnight Man". They have also worked with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on a series of films relating to each of the 14 studio albums produced by the band. Collectively titled "Do you love me like I love you" each film will feature on a DVD accompanying the album it relates to as part of the remastered Collector's Editions released by Mute Records throughout 2009. [12] Continuing their association with Nick Cave, the duo produced and sound-directed the audiobook for his novel The Death of Bunny Munro, [13] working with the acoustics department at Arup to produce a spatialized binaural mix which creates a 3D effect when played on headphones. It was published by Canongate Books in September 2009.

Occasionally directing music videos for other artists, they have also worked with The Veils, Fanfarlo, Tindersticks, Scott Walker and Gil Scott-Heron.

In 2009 they were commissioned by the British Film Institute to produce a new work for the BFI Gallery (the contemporary art space at BFI Southbank) called "Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work" [14] a multi-screen 3D video installation featuring Kevin Eldon, Caroline Catz, Terrence Hardiman and Fenella Fielding with Martians played by Ben Crompton, Iain Lee and Ben Moor. The project was curated by Elisabetta Fabrizi, who invited the artists to access the BFI National Archive of film and television, the largest of its kind in the world, to create a new commission. [15] [16]

Their first major survey show was presented by the South London Gallery in February–March 2011. [17] In January 2012 they were nominated for the Samsung Art+ Prize. [18]

Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard are currently represented by Kate MacGarry (London). [19] They have previously worked with Lawrence Eng Gallery (Vancouver) [20] and Galleria Paolo Bonzano (Rome). They are represented as filmmakers by Josh Varney at 42.

Their first feature film was announced by Film4. The hybrid drama-documentary titled 20,000 Days on Earth focusses on the musician and writer Nick Cave, and is backed by Film4, BFI and Corniche Pictures. The film is produced by Pulse Films and JW Films and cinematography is by Erik Wilson (Submarine, Tyrannosaur, The Imposter, The Double). An interview in The Guardian [21] with the directors revealed that the film will also star Kylie Minogue and Ray Winstone. Forsyth & Pollard won the Directing Award [22] at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2014, where the film premiered. The Editing Award was also presented to Jonathan Amos for 20,000 Days on Earth. The European premiere was in February 2014 at Berlinale in Berlin. [23] A theatrical release took place in September 2014 by Picturehouse in the UK, Drafthouse in the US and Madman in Australia.

In 2014 they were shortlisted for the Jarman Award and were awarded a Channel 4 Random Acts Commission. [24] Forsyth and Pollard were presented with the Douglas Hickox Award for best debut director at the 2014 Moët British Independent Film Awards. [25] They have also been BAFTA nominated for Best Documentary [26] and shortlisted for the London Film Critic's Circle Award. [27]

Filmography

Feature films

YearFilmCredited asProduction CompaniesNotes
Director Producer Writer Other
2014 20,000 Days on Earth YesJames Wilson, Dan BowenYes (with Nick Cave)Produced by Pulse Films and JW Films Film4 BFI Corniche PicturesFeaturing Nick Cave

Short films

YearFilmCredited asNotes
Director Producer Editor
2015Who Is Gil Scott-Heron?YesCommissioned by Richard Russell. Premier UK Screening at FACT Cinema Liverpool in collaboration with Fore-Word Press
2014EDITYesKatie NicollJonathan AmosCollaboration with Joe McAlinden. Premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival
2013Jumpers (What must I do to be saved)YesCally SpoonerRachael SpannCommissioned by Live at LICA. Music by Warren Ellis
2010I'm New HereYesNatalie JohnsDominic LeungMusic promo clip for Gil Scott-Heron
2009-11Do you love me like I love youYesYesYesDocumentary in 14 parts commissioned by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Mute Records
2010First KissYesYesYesMusic by Joe McAlinden
2008Run For MeYesYesYesWinner of the Great North Run Moving Image Commission 2008
2007Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!YesRuby WrightYesMusic promo clip for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2005Walking After Acconci (Redirected Approaches)YesYesRobin MahoneyFeaturing Ben Drew (aka Plan B)
2005Anyone else isn't youYesYesYesIncluded in the Tate Gallery Collection
2003File under Sacred MusicYesVivienne GaskinRobin MahoneyCommissioned by Arts Council England and the BBC

Collections

Public collections include:

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Snow</span> Canadian artist (1928–2023)

Michael James Aleck Snow was a Canadian artist who worked in a range of media including film, installation, sculpture, photography, and music. His best-known films are Wavelength (1967) and La Région Centrale (1971), with the former regarded as a milestone in avant-garde cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Film Institute</span> UK film archive and charity

The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, distribution, and education. It is sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and partially funded under the British Film Institute Act 1949.

John Smith is a British avant garde filmmaker noted for his use of humour in exploring various themes that often play upon the film spectator's conditioned assumptions of the medium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Pierce</span> English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Jason Andrew Pierce is an English musician. Currently the frontman and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized, he previously co-fronted the alternative rock band Spacemen 3 with Peter Kember from 1982 until 1991. He has worked under the name J. Spaceman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of the Moving Image, London</span> Former Museum

The Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) was a museum of the history of cinema technology and media sited below Waterloo Bridge in London. It was opened on 15 September 1988 by Prince Charles and at the time, was the world's largest museum devoted entirely to cinema and television. The museum formed part of the cultural complex on the South Bank of the River Thames. MOMI was mainly funded by private subscription and operated by the British Film Institute. MOMI was closed in 1999, initially on a supposedly temporary basis, and with the intention of its being relocated to Jubilee Gardens nearby. Its permanent closure was announced in 2002.

Jane Wilson and Louise WilsonRA Elect are British artists who work together as a sibling duo. Jane and Louise Wilson's art work is based in video, film and photography. They are YBA artists who were nominated for the Turner Prize in 1999.

<i>Aesthetica</i> Art and culture magazine


Aesthetica Magazine is an internationally recognized publication focusing on art and culture. Established in 2002, the magazine provides bi-monthly coverage of contemporary art across various disciplines, including visual arts, photography, architecture, fashion, and design. With wide distribution, it has garnered a readership of over 311,000 globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BFI National Archive</span> British Film Institute department

The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was founded as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955, its name became the National Film Archive, and, in 1992, the National Film and Television Archive. It was renamed BFI National Archive in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Akomfrah</span> British artist, filmmaker, curator (born 1957)

Sir John Akomfrah is a British artist, writer, film director, screenwriter, theorist and curator of Ghanaian descent, whose "commitment to a radicalism both of politics and of cinematic form finds expression in all his films".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (song)</span> 2008 single by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds

"Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" is a song written by Nick Cave and was released by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds as a single on February 18, 2008. The song, like much of the band's recent work, was produced by Nick Launay. The song has been available on the band's official website since Christmas Day, 2007, and the video has been viewable on the website since early January. In a journal available at the Nick Cave Exhibition, it is revealed that an earlier version was instead about a man who was dead, who when he was saying "I don't know what it is but there's definitely something going on upstairs" referring to continuing brain activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">More News from Nowhere</span> 2008 single by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

"More News from Nowhere" is the 28th single by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and the second single from the album Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!. The song has a melodic similarity to "Deanna" from the 1988 album Tender Prey and the song also mentions the character of Deanna. The title is a reference to novel News From Nowhere by William Morris. The "narrative" of the song follows that of the Odyssey, using modern names for the gods and nymphs in the original. The video was directed by British artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, who also directed videos for the other singles from this album. It was filmed at the Raymond Revuebar and featured cameo appearances from author Will Self, actors Michael Higgs, Caroline Catz and Karl Theobald, socialite Peaches Geldof, singer/songwriter Beth Orton, British artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster and bass player for The Wonder Stuff Mark McCarthy along with a number of burlesque dancers. The video was cut to the full-length album version of the song, running to over seven minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate MacGarry</span> Art gallery in London

Kate MacGarry is an eponymous contemporary art gallery located in London. It first opened in November 2002 on Redchurch Street in London's East End. From April 2007 to April 2011 the gallery was located on Vyner Street, and in May 2011 the gallery moved back to its roots on Old Nichol Street, close to Redchurch Street in Shoreditch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Kötting</span> British artist, writer, and filmmaker (born 1959)

Andrew Kötting is a British artist, writer, and filmmaker.

Mark Lewis is a Canadian artist, best known for his film installations. He represented Canada at the 2009 Venice Biennale.

Words & Pictures was an object-based art magazine published between 1994 and 1997, each issue in a signed and numbered limited edition. It was published by British artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. Complete sets exist in several public collections, including the Tate Gallery in London, the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Yale Center for British Art in the USA. More than 200 artists and writers contributed to the project, including several Turner Prize winners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BFI Southbank</span> Cinema in the UK

BFI Southbank is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films.

<i>20,000 Days on Earth</i> 2014 British documentary film

20,000 Days on Earth is a 2014 British musical documentary drama film co-written and directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. Nick Cave also co-wrote the script with Forsyth and Pollard. The film premiered in-competition in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on 20 January 2014. It won two Awards at the festival.

Amelia Troubridge is a British photographer.

Steven C. Harvey is a British visual artist. Born in Stafford, England, Harvey is best known for his series of pencil works, Vehicles.

The BFI Gallery was the British Film Institute's contemporary art gallery dedicated to artists' moving image housed within BFI Southbank, the BFI's flagship venue in London, previously known as the National Film Theatre.

References

  1. ↑ Archived January 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ [ dead link ]
  3. ↑ "Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard: Interview". Timeout.com. 30 May 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Arts - Shooting Live Artists - Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard". BBC. 3 March 2003. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "'It beats bingo!' - Music - The Guardian". 8 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "Arts - Simon Schama's Power of Art". BBC. 14 September 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Silent Sound". Silentsound.info. 7 March 2010. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "A Biography of The Brothers Davenport" (PDF). Spiritwritings.com\accessdate=2014-07-29.
  9. ↑ Rosenberg, Karen (8 December 2007). "At Fairs by the Beach, the Sands of Creativity". The New York Times . Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  10. 1 2 Archived February 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ "Iain & Jane direct Cave video". The Wire. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Announce Reissue Details | News". Pitchfork. 2 March 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Nick Cave". The Death of Bunny Munro. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  14. ↑ Archived May 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ Fabrizi, Elisabetta (ed), 'The BFI Gallery Book', BFI, London 2011, pp.159-170
  16. ↑ Fabrizi, Elisabetta, 'Is this Cinema? Am I right to keep on Trying?' in 'Artists Moving image in Britain since 1989', edited by Balsom, Erika, Perks, Sarah, Reynolds, Lucy, Paul Mellon/Yale University Press, London 2019.
  17. ↑ "Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard: PUBLICSFEAR | Exhibitions". South London Gallery. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "Samsung Art+ Prize 2012 | Media Art Competition - SAMSUNG UK". Samsung.com. 29 January 2012. Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "Home". Kate MacGarry. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  20. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110713191657/http://www.lawrenceeng.com/show_file.php?id=42291. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2009.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ↑ Alexis Petridis (27 June 2013). "A day in the life of Nick Cave | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  22. ↑ "Sundance Festival Award Winners | Sundance Film Festival". Sundance.org. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  23. ↑ "| Berlinale | Archive | Annual Archives | 2014 | Programme - 20,000 Days on Earth". Berlinale.de. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  24. ↑ Sandwell, Ian (7 July 2014). "Jarman Award unveils shortlist | News | Screen". Screendaily.com. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  25. ↑ "20,000 Days on Earth : BIFA". Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "Nominations Announced for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2015". www.bafta.org. 9 January 2015.
  27. ↑ "FILM - The Critics' Circle".
  28. ↑ "Iain Forsyth". Tate. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  29. ↑ [ dead link ]
  30. ↑ "Discount Vouchers for UK Stores". Projectspace176.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  31. ↑ "Government Art Collection - Art Work Details". Gac.culture.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  32. ↑ "MUDAM: Accueil". Mudam.lu. 28 June 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  33. ↑ "De Hallen - Collectie". Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  34. ↑ "National Archive". BFI. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.