Tony Heaton

Last updated

Tony Heaton
Born
Anthony James Heaton

(1954-10-11) 11 October 1954 (age 69)
NationalityBritish
Education Lancaster University
Known forSculpture
Movement Disability art
Awards OBE (2013)

Anthony James Heaton OBE (born 11 October 1954) is a British sculptor, disability rights activist and arts administrator, who was appointed an OBE in 2013 for services to the arts and the disability arts movement. [1] He was CEO of the arts charity Shape until March 2017. In 2012, he won the competition to produce an installation celebrating Channel 4's involvement in the London 2012 Paralympic Games. This produced his 'Monument for the Unintended Performer'. [2]

Contents

Early years

Heaton was born in Preston, Lancashire, in 1954, the son of a coppersmith. When, at the age of 16, a motor bike accident left him with a spinal injury, he switched from a comprehensive school to a local arts college at Southport. From 1972, he was self-employed as artist, sign writer, disc jockey, record shop proprietor, progressive rock band member and mural painter. According to a Disability Arts Online profile, at this period "Heaton gathered enormous expertise and self-reliance whilst appearing to drift aimlessly". [3] In 1986 he enrolled on a visual arts degree at Lancaster University whilst earning a living as a sign-painter. [3]

A contemporary of Andy Goldsworthy, Heaton experimented with environmental sculpture on sands at Morecambe Bay. Lancaster's head of sculpture, Paul Hatton, noted that the marks left by Heaton were immediately distinguishable from the footprints of his fellow students and urged him to develop work about this. Heaton states that, "A chance comment about how the marks left in the sand by my feet and crutches made my tracks immediately identifiable became the catalyst for a whole series of works relating to disability and my interaction with the environment". [3] Heaton exhibited a plaster cast of his feet and stick imprints, his first piece of disability art. [4]

Artistic career

Heaton's early sculptures often use what Disability Arts in London magazine described as "the everyday impedimenta of disability: collecting cans, NHS wheelchairs, X-rays, Part M of the Building Regulations". [5] But his work contradicts the normal associations of such materials by turning them into "profound and joyously witty statements about the nature of our oppression". [5]

An early piece, "Springback" (1990), is an assemblage including a spinal X-Ray juxtaposed above the shock absorber springs of a scrapped motorcycle, referring to the accident which caused his impairment and the metal strengthening spring placed inside his spine. [6]

'Shaken..not Stirred' (1991) consisted of a seven-feet high pyramid of 1,760 charity collecting cans, its ascending ranks of red plastic referring to the hierarchical nature of the charity system. The whole edifice was brought crashing to the ground when Heaton threw an artificial leg at it, suggesting that the hierarchical system could be destroyed by the collective power of disabled people. [7] As his work has developed, it has embodied ideas about disability and impairment. For instance, "Split" (1995) is a woodcarving made from a piece of ash discarded by a wood turner as useless because it has a shake; a fault running through it. Heaton saw this as "indicative of a society that sees only perfection and disregards all that is damaged or perceived as impaired". [5]

Great Britain from a Wheelchair Wheelchair sculpture 6493.JPG
Great Britain from a Wheelchair

The 1994 sculpture, 'Great Britain from a Wheelchair' is a map of Britain made from two grey NHS wheelchairs. "A delightful game, it forms a wonderful repudiation of the value judgement ('This is for some tragic bastard', in Heaton's words) implicit in the wheelchairs." [5] An image of this work was chosen by the National Disability Arts Collection and Archive as an example of work from the 'golden age' of disability arts. [8] During the 2012 Paralympics Heaton was invited to redesign 'Great Britain From a Wheelchair' as lecterns for Lord Coe and Sir Phillip Craven during the opening and closing ceremonies. [9]

In 2012, he was commissioned to produce 'Monument to the Unintended Performer', an installation for the Big 4 sculpture sited outside Channel Four's offices. [2] It brought together three elements in addition to the Big 4: the first based on the classical Greek sculpture Discobolus, the discus thrower, evoking the spirit of the Olympics; the second element, a circle, representing the wheel of the international symbol of access; and lastly, the introduction of gold, silver and bronze considers hierarchy. Heaton stated: "I wanted to use the structure of the Big 4 as one of four elements that would fuse together to form a new cohesive piece - which would provoke thought and celebrate Channel 4's involvement and commitment to the Paralympics. The subtext is the assertion that disabled people are almost always the object of scrutiny and curiosity." [10] [11]

'Gold Lamé', included in the 2014 exhibition Art of The Lived Experiment, is an invalid car covered in gold leaf. The title puns on the word "lame". Heaton states that the Invacar has been "transformed from prosthetic to sculpture, transmuted from spazz blue to gold, from Lame to Lamé", mirroring his own life adjustments, where he says, "I transmuted from biker to invalid". [12] [13] Gold Lamé also appeared at the Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool as the inaugural winner of the Liverpool Plinth. [14]

Holton Lee

From 1997 to 2007, Heaton was based in Dorset, as Director of the Holton Lee Trust [15] which offers a mix of environmental, artistic and spiritual activities, with short stay residential facilities for Disabled people, in an SSSI comprising 350 acres of woodland, reed bed and heath land landscape adjacent to Poole Harbour. [16]

Heaton developed a 10-year strategic plan for the organisation: a contemporary arts and education programme based on a series of accessible buildings including a gallery and artists' studios, which would enable a new programme of artistic work, a growth in residential capacity and a focus for disability arts. All the buildings would use local materials blending in with Holton Lee's natural surroundings. [17]

The first of these, Faith House gallery, designed by Tony Fretton was hailed by Jonathan Glancey in the Guardian as 'one of the most beautiful new buildings in Britain'. [18]

In 2002, Heaton organised the DA21 Disability Arts Conference at Holton Lee. [19] He also planned the inaugural conference to discuss the establishment of what would become the National Disability Arts Collection and Archive. The idea then envisaged was to create a purpose-built archive as part of the developing Holton Lee campus. This was abandoned after Heaton moved on. NDACA will now take the form of an interactive website and catalogue, after receiving funding of nearly £1 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2015. [20]

Shape

In 2007 Heaton became CEO of Shape Arts, the arts and disability charity founded by dancer Gina Levete. He brought to the organisation a new emphasis on disability arts and professional opportunities for artists.

He instituted the Adam Reynolds Memorial Bursary, which provides 3-month bursaries for disabled artists to undertake residencies at leading visual arts institutions. These have included the Victoria and Albert Museum, Camden Arts Centre, Spike Island, The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, the Bluecoat Gallery and New Art Gallery Walsall. The bursary is named after the late sculptor, [21] with whom Heaton had a close friendship. [22] Early winners were Caroline Cardus, Aaron Williamson, Sally Booth and Noëmi Lakmaier. [23]

He also created the Shape Open, an annual open exhibition of artwork by disabled and non-disabled artists created in response to a disability-centred theme. [24] The exhibition's patron is Yinka Shonibare, at whose Guest Projects space in Hackney, London the 2016 exhibition took place. [25] [26]

Heaton has announced that he will stand down as CEO in 2017 and become chair of the organisation. [27]

Order of the British Empire

Heaton was appointed an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours, 2013, for services to the arts and the disability arts movement. [1]

Key works

TitleYearMaterial
Six Circles1989Carved elmwood [28]
Springback1990X-ray, bulldog clips, steel motor cycle suspension springs, base [28]
Shaken Not Stirred1991Red charity collecting tins, artificial leg, Jungle Doc Dr. Marten boot
Great Britain from a Wheelchair1994Wheelchair parts [8]
Split1995Ash wood [28]
Greymares1997Laser-cut stainless steel, ceramic bricks [29]
Personal column1998Carved willow [28]
White on White: Barbara, Johnny and the Quiet Revolution2002Conservators' cotton gloves, mount board [30]
Serpent Form2004Carrara marble [31]
Zenmen2004Carrara marble [32]
Rearranged Penis2006Porcelain and paper clay [33]
Loop2005Carrara marble [28]
squarinthecircle?2007Portland stone [34]
Monument to the Unintended Performer2012Stainless steel, neon, polyurethane, LED [35]
Gold Lamé2014Fibreglass, steel, perspex, rubber, gold automotive paint [36] [37]

Exhibitions

Commissions

Residencies

Awards

Other information

Heaton was chosen by artist Tanya Raabe, in an interview with BBC Ouch, as one of her ideal dinner guests, along with Michael Caine, Frida Kahlo, her husband Diego Rivera, "because he's a womaniser and I think he'd get on marvellously with Tony Heaton and her best friend, Ann Young. [48]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yinka Shonibare</span> British artist (born 1962)

Yinka Shonibare, is a British artist living in the United Kingdom. His work explores cultural identity, colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation. A hallmark of his art is the brightly coloured Ankara fabric he uses. As Shonibare is paralysed on one side of his body, he uses assistants to make works under his direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camden Art Centre</span> Building in London Borough of Camden, England

Camden Art Centre is a contemporary art gallery in the London Borough of Camden, England. It hosts temporary exhibitions and educational outreach projects, with a programme including exhibitions, learning, residencies, off-site projects, artist-led activities, and courses.

Tony Fretton is a British architect known for his residential and public gallery buildings, as well as other British and international design work. He graduated from the Architectural Association (AA) and worked for various practices including Arup, Neyland and Ungless, and Chapman Taylor, before setting up his own firm, Tony Fretton Architects, in 1982. His first major project was the Lisson Gallery in 1990. He is known for designing "location sensitive art spaces" using a combination of vernacular and minimalist approaches balancing new and age-old designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill</span> Hotel in London

The Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill is a five star hotel located on Portman Square, north of Marble Arch in central London, England. It is owned by The Churchill Group Ltd and is currently operated by Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gus Casely-Hayford</span> British curator, historian and broadcaster (born 1964)

Augustus Lavinus Casely-Hayford is a British curator, cultural historian, broadcaster and lecturer with ancestral Ghanaian roots in the Casely-Hayford family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Gander</span> British artist

Ryan Gander is a British artist. Since 2003, Gander has produced a body of artworks in different forms, ranging from sculpture, apparel, writing, architecture, painting, typefaces, publications, and performance. Additionally, Gander curates exhibitions, has worked as an educator at art institutions and universities, and has written and presented television programmes on and about contemporary art and culture for the BBC.

Disability art or disability arts is any art, theatre, fine arts, film, writing, music or club that takes disability as its theme or whose context relates to disability.

Shape Arts or Shape is a British arts charity, working across the UK and internationally, funded by Arts Council England. It provides opportunities for disabled individuals wanting to work in the arts and cultural sector. It trains participants and runs arts and development programmes across all of the creative arts: visual arts, music, dance, writing and acting.

<i>Big 4</i> (sculpture) Sculpture of Channel 4 logo in London HQ

The Big 4 is a sculpture made of steel bars located outside the headquarters of the Channel Four Television Corporation in London. It is designed to represent the logo of Channel 4 while providing a basis for a number of art installations. As of November 2012 seven installations have been made on the statue's steel framework, including those to coincide with the 2012 Summer Paralympics, covered with both newsprint and umbrellas, and a design to simulate the statue breathing. A further dressing to celebrate the devolution of Channel 4 from London to a series of regionally-based offices, alongside the Horseferry Road HQ has recently been approved and will be erected later in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DaDaFest</span> Disability arts organisation based in Liverpool, UK

DaDaFest is a disability arts organisation based in Liverpool, UK. It delivers an international, biennial festival and organises other events to promote disability and deaf arts from a variety of cultural perspectives. Alongside the festival and events, DaDaFest organises opportunities for disabled and deaf people to gain access to the arts. This includes training and a youth focused programme.

Disability in the United Kingdom covers a wide range of conditions and experiences, deeply impacting the lives of millions of people. Defined by the Equality Act 2010 as a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, it encompasses various aspects of life, including demographics, legislation, healthcare, employment, and culture. Despite numerous advancements in policy and social attitudes, individuals with disabilities often encounter unique challenges and disparities.

Kelly Heaton is a sculptor, scientist, perfumer, and spiritualist known for her combination of visual art with analog electrical engineering. She is the owner and perfumer for The Virginia Perfume Company.

Rachel Gadsden is a UK-based visual artist and performance artist who is exhibited internationally and who works across the mainstream and disability art sectors. Gadsden has led a range of national and international participative programmes exploring themes of fragility and resilience. She has had a lung condition all her life and is injected by a syringe driver at one-minute intervals with the medication she needs to keep her alive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Austin</span> British artist

Susan Felicity Austin is a British disabled artist working in multimedia, performance and installation. Austin is best known for her work "Creating the Spectacle!" in which she uses a specially modified wheelchair to move underwater, using scuba diving equipment; it was performed as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Austin's underwater wheelchair has been seen by more than 400 million people worldwide. Austin lives in Devon, south west England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attenborough Arts Centre</span> Arts centre in Leicester, England

Attenborough Arts Centre is an arts centre on Lancaster Road, Leicester, United Kingdom. It is the University of Leicester arts centre but also serves Leicester as a whole. The centre's access and inclusive work has been recognised, through multiple awards and grants from Arts Council England, BBC Children in Need, LeicesterShire Promotions, Art Fund and Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Unlimited is a commissioning programme that celebrates the work of deaf and disabled artists, originally conceived for by Arts Council England for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Since its inception, the programme represents a multi-million pound investment which to date has commissioned more than 70 pieces of work across theatre, dance, visual art, music, literature, film, poetry and performance art. Several Unlimited-commissioned pieces have gone on to have a global reach, such as Sue Austin's Creating the Spectacle, which has reportedly been seen by more than 150 million people worldwide. Others have won critical and industry acclaim within their field, such as Touretteshero's Backstage in Biscuit Land, which earned the company the 2014 Total Theatre Award for Best Emerging Company. Unlimited is currently delivered in partnership between Shape Arts and Artsadmin with senior producer Jo Verrent.

Steve Cribb was an English disability rights activist, artist, collector and numismatist.

TheLiverpool Plinth is an art space that showcases sculptures for a 12-month period on a plinth outside Liverpool Parish Church in Liverpool, UK. The current sculpture is by artist Brigitte Jurack

The Disabled People's Direct Action Network (DAN) is a disability rights activist organisation in England and Wales that campaigned for civil rights with high-profile street demonstrations involving civil disobedience, rallies and protests.

The National Disability Arts Collection and Archive (NDACA) is a British collection focusing on Disability Arts which opened in 2019. It consists of an online collection and a facility at the High Wycombe campus of Buckinghamshire New University, and features over 3500 objects. The project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and is led by Shape Arts, with David Hevey as the project's creative director, and founded by Tony Heaton.

References

  1. 1 2 "Queen's birthday honours list 2013: OBE | UK news". The Guardian. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Channel 4 unveils new 'Big 4' installation". Channel 4. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Tony Heaton: Squaring The Circle". disability arts online. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  4. "Squareinthecircle?". tonyheaton.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tony Heaton...exposed - a retrospective". Disability Arts in London. No. 107. November 1996.
  6. "Interview: John O'Donoghue talks to Tony Heaton, Shape CEO". disability arts online. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  7. Sutherland, A. (2008). "Choices, Rights and Cabaret". In Swain, J.; French S. (eds.). Disability on Equal Terms. Sage. ISBN   978-1-4129-1987-6.
  8. 1 2 "The 'golden age' of disability arts - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  9. "Tony Heaton". Disability Arts International. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  10. "Tony Heaton | Lancaster University". Lancaster.ac.uk. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  11. "Public art and disability: Getting noticed". The Economist. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  12. ""I Always Avoided Referring To Disability In My Work, Because I Was Afraid To Seem Pitiful": The Transformation Of DaDaFest". The Double Negative. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  13. "Review: DaDaFest International 2014: Art of the Lived Experiment". disability arts online. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  14. livpc.co.uk
  15. "Movers: Tony Heaton, chief executive, Shape". Third Sector. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  16. "Holton Lee". Countryside Mobility. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  17. "National Disability Arts Collection and Archive". disability arts online. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  18. Jonathan Glancey (7 October 2002). "Tony Fretton's Faith House | Art and design". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  19. "2000 - 2003". disability arts online. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  20. "about ndaca - National Disability Arts Collection & Archive". Ndaca.org.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  21. "News | Adam Reynolds Memorial Bursary". Shape Arts. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  22. "Adam Reynolds: an Obituary". disability arts online. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  23. "Discussion: John O'Donoghue gives an overview of the Shape's Adam Reynolds Memorial Bursary: The First Four". disability arts online. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  24. "News | Shape Open". Shape Arts. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  25. "Yinka Shonibare To Host Shape Arts' Annual Open Exhibition". Artlyst.com. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  26. Jude Jweihan (10 February 2016). "Yinka Shonibare Hosts Shape Open Exhibition – Eastlondonlines". Eastlondonlines.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  27. Trish Wheatley (2 November 2016). "A new chapter for Shape and Tony Heaton - My blog". Disabilityarts.online. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 "Gallery: Tony Heaton". disability arts online. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  29. "Greymares". Tonyheaton.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  30. Masefield, Paddy (2006). Strength. Trentham Books. pp. 122–123. ISBN   978-185856-380-0.
  31. "Serpent form". Tonyheaton.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  32. "Image viewer". disability arts online. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  33. "Rearranged Penis". Tonyheaton.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  34. Boys, Jos (2014). Doing Disability Differently: An alternative handbook on architecture, dis/ability and designing for everyday life. Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-82493-4.
  35. "Millimetre designers and makers". Millimetre.
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Tony Heaton: Sculptor" . Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  37. "Arciform Art Installation and AV Technician Services". Arciform.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  38. "Disability Arts Chronology: 1977 - 2003". disability arts online. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  39. Tony Heaton (16 June 2010). "Shaken Not Stirred - Catalogue - Live Art Development Agency". Thisisliveart.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  40. "1990 - 1999". disability arts online. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  41. Cardus, Caroline. "Architecture-InsideOut". Architecture-insideout.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  42. Simon Mckeown (17 September 2014). "Taunton Brewhouse Flux Festival 2010". issuu. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  43. "Art of the Lived Experiment". Amanda Cachia. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  44. Pring, John (20 November 2015). "Exhibition proves disabled artists 'still mine a rich seam of oppression'". Disabilitynewsservice.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  45. "Disability and Political Activism in Art". Mentalspaghetti.org. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  46. "Attenborough Arts Centre — 1 day to go until the preview of Art, Life". Attenboroughac.tumblr.com. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  47. "Exhibition proves disabled artists 'still mine a rich seam of oppression' | DisabledGo News and Blog". Disabledgo.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  48. Breen, Zoe (26 January 2010). "Ouch! (disability) - Interviews - 13 Questions: painter Tanya Raabe". BBC. Retrieved 13 November 2016.