The last few decades have been among the most dynamic within recent British cultural history. Artists across all genres and media have developed and re-fashioned their practice against a radically changing social and cultural landscape – both national and global. This book takes a fresh look at some of the themes, ideas and directions which have informed British art since the later 1980s through to the first decade of the new millennium. In addition to discussing some iconic images and examples, it also looks more broadly at the contexts in which a new ‘post-conceptual’ generation of artists, those typically born since the late 1950s and 1960s have approached and developed aspects of their professional practice. Contemporary British Art is an ideal introduction to the field. To guide the reader, the book is organised around genres or related practices – painting; sculpture and installation; and film, video and performance. The first chapter explores aspects of the contemporary art market and some of the contexts within which art is made, supported and exhibited. The chapters that discuss various genres of art practice also mention books that may be useful to support further reading. Extensively illustrated with a wide range of work (both known, and less well-known) from artists such as Chris Ofili, Rachel Whiteread, Damien Hirst, Banksy, Anthony Gormley, Jack Vettriano, Sam Taylor-Wood, Steve McQueen and Tracey Emin, and many more.

This book proposes new understandings of modern life in Britain by bringing constructs of female spirituality centre stage and examining three ‘forgotten’ artists identified with the Pre-Raphaelites and Victorianism. Thomas Cooper Gotch, Robert Anning Bell and Frederick Cayley Robinson are resituated squarely within the tumultuous social and cultural changes of the period. Becoming visible again, in more inclusive histories, allows such artists not only to re-inhabit but to reshape narratives of modernism, reanimating the scholarly discourse and creating a dynamic cultural history of modern Britain expressed through their striking visions of womanhood. This book will be of interest to scholars in art history, gender studies and British studies.

Originally published in 1998, The Handbook of Modern British Painting and Printmaking 1900-1990 has been designed for people who enjoy, study and buy British art. The only portable dictionary-style guide to the life and work of modern British painters and printmakers, the book provides information on some 2,000 artists, as well as entries on schools of art, on museums, galleries and collections, on societies and groups, and critics and patrons who have influenced the development of modern art in Britain. Compiled by scholars, the entries are cross-referenced and each concise biographical outline provides the relevant facts about the artist's life, a brief characterisation of the artist's work, and major bibliographic references. Wherever possible, one or two suggestions for further reading are cited.

Boasting more than 970 alphabetically-arranged entries, the Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture surveys British cultural practices and icons in the latter half of the twentieth century. It examines high and popular culture and encompasses both institutional and alternative aspects of British culture. It provides insight into the whole spectrum of British contemporary life. Topics covered include: architecture, pubs, film, internet and current takes on the monarchy. Cross-referencing and a thematic contents list enable readers to identify related articles. The entries range from short biographical synopses to longer overview essays on key issues. This Encyclopedia is essential reading for anyone interested in British culture. It also provides a cultural context for students of English, Modern History and Comparative European Studies.

This unique collaboration between scholars, practitioners and Muslim artists profiles emerging forms of contemporary British Muslim art, prompting a debate about its purpose and its inclusion in UK society. It features analysis of Muslim art as a category, as well as reflective accounts of people working in theatre, popular music, the heritage sector and ancient and modern visual arts, often at the margins of the British arts industry. Dealing with sociological and theological themes as well as art history and practice, the volume provides a timely intervention on a neglected topic. The collection discusses diverse topics including how second- and third-generation British Muslims, as part of a broader generational shift, have reworked Sufi music and traditional calligraphy and fused them with new musical and artistic styles, from Grime to comic book art, alongside consideration of the experiences of Muslim artists who work in the theatre, museums and the performing arts sectors. It is a must-read for students and researchers of theology and religious studies, Islamic studies, fine art, cultural studies and ethnic and racial studies.

This book explores the notable roles that contemporary British artists of African descent have played in the multicultural context of postwar Britain. In four key case studies— Magdalene Odundo, Veronica Ryan, Mary Evans, and Maria Amidu—Monique Kerman charts their impact through analysis of works, activities, and exhibitions. The author elucidates each of the artists’ creative response to their unique experience and examines how their work engages with issues of history, identity, diaspora, and the distillation of diverse cultural sources. The study also includes a comparative discussion of art broadly defined as “black British,” in order to question assumptions concerning racial and ethnic identities that the artists often negotiate through their works—particularly the expectation or “burden” of representing minority or marginalized communities. Readers are thus challenged to unburden the artists herein and celebrate their work on its own terms.

British culture today is the product of a shifting combination of tradition and experimentation, national identity and regional and ethnic diversity. These distinctive tensions are expressed in a range of cultural arenas, such as art, sport, journalism, fashion, education, and race. This Companion addresses these and other major aspects of British culture, and offers a sophisticated understanding of what it means to study and think about the diverse cultural landscapes of contemporary Britain. Each contributor looks at the language through which culture is formed and expressed, the political and institutional trends that shape culture, and at the role of culture in daily life. This interesting and informative account of modern British culture embraces controversy and debate, and never loses sight of the fact that Britain and Britishness must always be understood in relation to the increasingly international context of globalisation.

Examining a wide range of ekphrastic poems, David Kennedy argues that contemporary British poets writing out of both mainstream and avant-garde traditions challenge established critical models of ekphrasis with work that is more complex than representational or counter-representational responses to paintings in museums and galleries. Even when the poem appears to be straightforwardly representational, it is often selectively so, producing a 'virtual' work that doesn't exist in actuality. Poets such as Kelvin Corcoran, Peter Hughes, and Gillian Clarke, Kennedy suggests, relish the ekphrastic encounter as one in which word and image become mutually destabilizing. Similarly, other poets engage with the source artwork as a performance that participates in the ethical realm. Showing that the ethical turn in ekphrastic poetry is often powerfully gendered, Kennedy also surveys a range of ekphrastic poets from the Renaissance and nineteenth century to trace a tradition of female ekphrastic poetry that includes Pauline Stainer and Frances Presley. Kennedy concludes with a critique of ekphrastic exercises in creative writing teaching, proposing that ekphrastic writing that takes greater account of performance spectatorship may offer more fruitful models for the classroom than the narrativizing of images.

Examining a wide range of ekphrastic poems, David Kennedy argues that contemporary British poets writing out of both mainstream and avant-garde traditions challenge established critical models of ekphrasis with work that is more complex than representational or counter-representational responses to paintings in museums and galleries. Even when the poem appears to be straightforwardly representational, it is often selectively so, producing a 'virtual' work that doesn't exist in actuality. Poets such as Kelvin Corcoran, Peter Hughes, and Gillian Clarke, Kennedy suggests, relish the ekphrastic encounter as one in which word and image become mutually destabilizing. Similarly, other poets engage with the source artwork as a performance that participates in the ethical realm. Showing that the ethical turn in ekphrastic poetry is often powerfully gendered, Kennedy also surveys a range of ekphrastic poets from the Renaissance and nineteenth century to trace a tradition of female ekphrastic poetry that includes Pauline Stainer and Frances Presley. Kennedy concludes with a critique of ekphrastic exercises in creative writing teaching, proposing that ekphrastic writing that takes greater account of performance spectatorship may offer more fruitful models for the classroom than the narrativizing of images.

The sculptural history of the long 1980s has been dominated by New British Sculpture and Young British Artists. Arguing for a more expansive history of British sculpture and its supporting infrastructures, these twenty-three vivid and enthralling interviews with artists, curators, dealers and facilitators working then demonstrate the interconnected networks, diversity of ideas and practices, energy, imagination and determination that transformed British art from being marginal to internationally celebrated. With a substantial introduction, this timely volume provides valuable new insights into the education, work, careers, studios, infrastructures and exhibitions of the artists and facilitators, substantially enlarging our understanding of the era.