Third Text

Rasheed Araeen (b 1935, Karachi, Pakistan) is an artist, writer and the founder of both Third Text (London) and Third Text Asia (Karachi). He left Karachi for London in 1964 and has lived here since. In 1965 he pioneered Minimalist sculpture in Britain. He began writing in 1975 and then publishing his own art journals: Black Phoenix (1978), Third Text (1987) and Third Text Asia (2008). He has curated two important exhibitions: ‘The Essential Black Art’ (1987) and ‘The Other Story’ (Hayward Gallery, 1989). He is now directing a project that will produce the most comprehensive and inclusive history of art in postwar Britain: The Whole Story: Art in Postwar Britain. See Making Myself Visible, with an introductory essay by Guy Brett, ISBN: 0 947753 00 1, 1984. Lack of information about the work of African and Asian artists has created a serious gap in our knowledge of the history of the development of postwar art in Britain. This has adversely affected the teaching of art at both lower and higher levels of education. The aim of Kala Press in association with Third Text is to redress this situation by promoting and encouraging research in this area and publishing the results. Making Myself Visible is the first attempt in this respect. See also Art Beyond Art: Eco-aesthetics: A Manifesto for the 21st Century, Third Text Publications, ISBN: 9 780947 753 108, 2010.

Saleem Arif (b 1949, Hyderabad), came to UK 1966, studied Sculpture, Birmingham College of Art, 1969–1970 and Painting, Royal College of Art, London 1972–1975. Third Text 8/9, autumn/winter 1989, Special Issue: The Other Story, Saleem Arif, ‘Inferno Series’; 27, summer 1994, Sue Hubbard, ‘The Art of Saleem Arif’.

Frank Bowling (b 1936, Bartica, Guyana). Came to London 1950, Slade School of Fine Art and Royal College of Art, London, 1959–1962. Third Text 5, winter 1988/89, Frank Bowling, ‘Formalist Art and the Black Experience’; 91, A Very Special British Issue, vol 22, no 2, March 2008, Leon Wainwright, ‘Frank Bowling and the Appetite for British Pop’.

Sonia Boyce (b 1962, London, England) Studied Fine Art at Stourbridge College of Art and Technology, 1980–1983. Gilane Tawadros, Sonia Boyce: Speaking in Tongues, ISBN 0 947753 09 5, 96 pp with 35 colour and 40 b/w illustrations, paperback. The work of Sonia Boyce occupies a special place within the recent history of British art, encouraging and challenges us to ask what it means to be a black woman artist in a hierarchical artworld and to confront the difficult and vexing questions surrounding inter-racial relations in a cosmopolitan society where cultural identities still condense around myths of nationhood. This monograph traces the artist’s trajectory from early graphic work, which subtly weaves a complex tapestry of the memories, desires and constraints that mark the formative years of a young woman subject to differing cultural values, to the recent mixed-media work which, drawing on familiar elements of British popular culture and cinema, addresses society’s positioning of individuals in terms of race, class and gender. The sensitive and authoritative essay by Gilane Tawadros is accompanied by a parallel commentary selected from the artist’s diary notes, detailing those moments and encounters which she felt to be most significant in the development of her thought and art practice. Gilane Tawadros is an art historian and the Director of the Institute of International Visual Arts (INIVA), London. See also: Third Text 1, autumn 1987, John Roberts, ‘Interview with Sonia Boyce’; 54, spring 2001, David Bailey and Sonia Boyce, ‘The Living Archive Papers: An Introduction’.

Chila Kumari Burman (b Liverpool, England) studied Fine Art and Graphic Art at Leeds Polytechnic and Post-Graduate Diploma in Fine Art at Slade School of Art, University College, London, 1980–1982. Lynda Nead, Chila Kumari Burman: Beyond Two Cultures, ISBN 0 947753 07 9, 80 pp with 25 colour and 34 b/w illustrations, paperback. This monograph brings together Chila Kumari Burman’s work of the last fifteen years with a thought-provoking text by Dr Lynda Nead. Chila Kumari Burman was among a handful of artists whose families had settled in postwar Britain and who emerged from art schools in the early 1980s. Faced with an art establishment unwilling to recognise the individual cultural practices of such artists beyond the stereotypes of ethnicity, Burman became part of a militant vanguard determined to gain their right to full participation in the nation’s cultural life on their own terms. Burman has consistently used her own image in an ever-expanding repertoire of provocative and active female identities, complementing her artwork with polemical texts, and by curating exhibitions and community art projects. See also: _Third Text _19, summer 1992, Special Issue: Autobiography, Chila Kumari Burman, ‘Ask How I Feel/Automatic Rap/ My New Work’; 41, winter 1997/98, John Holt, ‘Chila Kumari Burman: A Martial Artist Beyond Two Cultures’.

Eddie Chambers (b 1960, Wolverhampton, England). Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry, 1980, Sunderland Polytechnic, 1983. Formed radical ‘black art’ group, ‘The Pan-Afrikan Connection’ with Keith Piper, too organise exhibitions for young black artists, hold seminars, workshops and conferences. Third Text 5, winter 1988/89, Rasheed Araeen and Eddie Chambers, ‘Black Art: A Discussion’; 15, summer 1991, Special Issue: Art and Immigration, Eddie Chambers, ‘Black Art Now’; 36, autumn 1996, Eddie Chambers, ‘“Cold Comfort”: Permindar Kaur’; 44, autumn 1998, Eddie Chambers, ‘His Catechism: The Art of Donald Rodney Victoria’; 46, spring 1999, Book Review: Niru Ratnam, Run Through the Jungle: Selected Writings by Eddie Chambers; see also Eddie Chambers, Run Through the Jungle: 5: Selected Writings by Eddie Chambers (Annotations), Institute of International Visual Arts (INIVA), illustrated edition, ISBN-10: 1899846204 ISBN-13: 978-1899846207, 1999

Avinash Chandra (b 1931, Simla, India – d 1991). Studied Painting at Delhi Polytechnic, 1947–1952. Third Text 3/4, spring/summer 1988, Rasheed Araeen, ‘Conversation with Avinash Chandra’.

Avtarjeet Dhanjal (b 1939, Dalla, Punjab). Came to Britain 1974, studied on the Advanced Sculpture Course, Saint Martin’s School of Art, London; group exhibition, ‘Saint Martin’s Sculpture’, South Bank, London, 1977. He organised the first International Sculpture Symposium to be held in India, 1980. Solo exhibition, Horizon Gallery, London, 1987. Third Text 8/9, autumn/winter 1989, Special Issue: The Other Story, Shelagh Hourahane, ‘Homeland and Foundland: The Sculpture of Avtarjeet Dhanjal’.



 

Jimmie Durham (b 1940, USA). A Certain Lack of Coherence: Writings on Art and Cultural Politics, Kala Press, 256 pp with 18 b/w illustrations, ISBN 0 947753 03 6, hardback, ISBN 0 947753 04 4 paperback. This anthology of writings by one of the most controversial figures in contemporary culture encompasses his appeal to the Native American nations for strength and unity of purpose in combating the corrosive effects of colonialism, to his acerbic critiques of Western culture and its redemptive myths of the ‘Other’. The author’s keen understanding of historical process and witty subversions of Western thought challenge any complacent attitudes we may harbour to ‘multiculturalism’ and offer a model of how we might think and act differently about the world. See also: Third Text 12, autumn 1990, Special Issue: Body Politics, Jimmie Durham, ‘Cowboys And...’; 21, winter 1992/93, Special Issue: The Wake Of Utopia, Jean Fisher, ‘The Savage Gift: Jimmie Durham’s Ama’; 28/29, autumn/winter 1994, Double Issue, Judy Purdom, ‘Who is Jimmie Durham?’; Jaki Irvine, ‘Jimmie Durham: Original Re-Runs’.

Uzo Egonu (b 1931, Onitsha, Nigeria – d 1996, London, England). Studied Fine Art, Design and Typography, Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, London, 1949–1952, Life Fellow, Royal Society of Arts, London1968. Olu Oguibe, Uzo Egonu: An African Artist in the West, Kala Press, 1995, ISBN 0 947753 08 7, 176 pp with 65 colour and 41 b/w illustrations, paperback. Egonu has been described as ‘perhaps Africa’s greatest modern painter’, whose work challenges the impoverished Western myth of the naive African artist. The complexity of Egonu’s work is firmly located within the tradition of modernism in a judicious synthesis of visual languages developed from his critical encounter with Western art and an informed awareness of his country of origin, postcolonial Nigeria. This monograph offers a unique contribution to the scarce literature on artists of African, Asian or Latin American origin living in the West. See also _Third Text _8/9, autumn/winter 1989, Special Issue: The Other Story, Hiltrud Streicher, ‘Reflections of Uzo Egonu’; 36, autumn 1996, Rasheed Araeen, ‘Obituary: Uzo Egonu’.

Iqbal Geoffrey (b 1939, Chiniot, Pakistan). J Iqbal Geoffrey, Iqbal Geoffrey: Paintings, Drawings, Watercolours: 1949–1963, Grand Central Moderns, ASIN: B0007EDN80, 1963; David Luisi, ‘J Iqbal Geoffrey’, in A Collection of Critical Essays, Central Washington State College, ASIN: B0006CXGJ4, 1971.

Lubaina Himid (b 1954, Zanzibar, Tanzania). Came to England, 1954, studied Theatre Design, Wimbledon School of Art, 1973–1976, theatre and interior design from 1976, MA in Cultural History, Royal College of Art, London, 1982–1984. Organised several Black Art exhibitions: ‘Five Black Women Artists’, Africa Centre, London, 1983; and ‘Black Woman Time Now’, Battersea Arts Centre, 1983; opened her own art gallery, ‘The Elbow Room’, London, 1986.

Gavin Jantjes (b 1948, Cape Town, South Africa). Studied Graphic Design, School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, 1966–1969. Scholarship to Hochschule fürbildende Kunst, Hamburg, Germany, 1970–1972, where he studied with Joe Tilson. _Third Text _23, summer 1993, Special Issue: Africa, Gavin Jantjes, ‘The Artist as a Cultural Salmon: A View from the Frying Pan’.

Balraj Khanna (b Punjab, India, 1940). Came to Britain 1960, first solo exhibition, New Vision Centre, London, 1965; Chairman of London-based Indian Arts Council 1983–1988.

 

Kim Lim (b 1936, Singapore – d 1997, London, England). She studied at Saint Martin’s School of Art, London, 1954–1956, and the Slade School of Fine Art, 1956–1960. First solo exhibition, Axiom Gallery, London, 1966, after which she exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in Europe and the Far East. She lived and worked in London.

Donald Locke (b 1930, Stewartville, Guyana). British Council Scholarship to Bath Academy of Art, studied Painting, Sculpture and Ceramics, 1954. Third Text 8/9, autumn/winter 1989, Special Issue: The Other Story, Barbara Cortright, ‘An Interview with Donald Locke’.

Ernest Mancoba (b 1904, Witwatersrand, South Africa  –d 2002, near Paris, France). Studied art at Fort Hare University College, moved to Paris in 1938, a member of the CoBrA movement. Third Text 75, vol 19, no 4, July 2005, Forum, Olu Oguibe, ‘The True Location of Ernest Mancoba’s Modernism’; Bridget Thompson, ‘The African Spiritual Expression of Ernest Mancoba’; 95, vol 22, no 6, July 2008, Reviews, Lize van Robbroeck, ‘In the Name of All Humanity: the African Spiritual Expression of Ernest Mancoba’; 103, vol 24, no 2, March 2010, Special Issue: Beyond Negritude – Senghor’s Vision For Africa, Guest Editor, Denis Ekpo, Laura M Smalligan, ‘The Erasure of Ernest Mancoba: Africa and Europe at the Crossroads’; 104, vol 24, no 3, May 2010, Hans Ulrich Obrist, ‘An Interview with Ernest Mancoba’



 

David Medalla (b 1942, Manila, Philippines). Studied in Manila and New York. Went to Paris, c 1960, moved to London early 1960s. Guy Brett, Exploding Galaxies: The Art of David Medalla, Kala Press, 1995, ISBN 0 947753 06 0, 216 pp with 68 colour and 117 b/w illustrations, paperback. This monograph brings together a fascinating and ephemeral body of artistic work which escapes a simple definition. David Medalla has distinguished himself internationally as a major innovator of the avant-garde. Over the years his work has embraced a multitude of forms and formats independent of the commercial pressures of the art market. He has been an international creative force striving towards the emergence of a new kind of transnational and polymorphic culture. See Third Text 8/9, autumn/winter 1989, Special Issue: The Other Story, Guy Brett, ‘David Medalla: From Biokineticism to Synoptic Realism’; 30, spring 1995, Jun Terra, ‘David Medalla in London’.

Ronald Moody (b 1900, Kingston Jamaica – d 1984, London, England). Came to London 1923, moved to Paris, 1936, solo exhibitions, Paris, 1937, Amsterdam, 1938. Third Text 8/9, autumn/winter 1989, Special Issue: The Other Story, Cynthia Moody, ‘Ronald Moody: A Man True to His Vision’; Jamaican Sculptors: Basil Watson, Christopher Gonzalez, Ronald Moody, Osmond Watson, John Dunkley, ISBN-10: 1158406789, ISBN-13: 978-1158406784, Publisher unknown, June 2010.

Ahmed Parvez (b 1926, Rawalpindi, Pakistan – d 1979, Karachi, Pakistan). Awarded Punjab University’s highest prize for art, 1952. Five solo exhibitions in Lahore and Karachi, Pakistan; participated in the 3rd biennale, São Paulo, Brazil, 1955. Moved to London, 1955. One of the founder members of Pakistani Group, London and appointed honourable Secretary of the Council of Commonwealth Artists, 1955. First solo exhibition in London, New Vision Centre, 1959.

Ivan Peries (b 1921, Deriwala, Sri Lanka – d 1988, Southend-on-Sea, England). Studied painting under Harry Pieris. Founder member (with George Keyt and Justin Daraniyagala) of 43 Group of contemporary Sri Lankan painters, established in 1943 to show work independently of official exhibitions. Government scholarship to London to study at Anglo-French Centre, 1946. Returned to Sri Lanka 1949, and then back to England 1953. Regularly exhibited with 43 Group. Third Text 2, winter 1987/88, Senake Bandaranayake, ‘Ivan Peries: (Paintings 1939–1969): The Predicament of the Bourgeois Artist in the Societies of the Third World’; Senake Bandaranayake, Ivan Peries: Paintings, 1938–88, Tamarind Publications, 179 pp, ISBN-10: 9559458000, ISBN-13: 978-9559458005, 1996. Bottom of Form

Keith Piper (b 1960, Birmingham, England). Attended Lanchaster Polytechnic, Coventry, 1979 and Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham, 1980–1983, and Environmental Media Course, Royal College of Art, 1984–1986. Organised the exhibition ‘Black Art and Done’ with Eddie Chambers, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, 1982. Third Text 2, winter 1987/88, Keith Piper, ‘Body & Text’; 31, summer 1995, Richard Hylton, ‘Phaophanit and Piper’; 47, summer 1999, Special Issue: 3w3, Third World Wide Web, Sean Cubitt, ‘Keith Piper: After Resistance, Beyond Destiny’.

Anwar Jalal Shemza (b 1928, Simla, India – d 1985, Stafford, England). Studied at Mayo School of Art, Lahore, Pakistan, 1943–1946. Moved to London, 1956, with British Council Scholarship, diploma from Slade School of Art, 1959. Post-graduate research in Graphic Arts, Slade School of Art, London, 1960. Lived and taught in Stafford, 1961–1985. Third Text 8/9, autumn/winter 1989, Special Issue: The Other Story, Mary Shemza, ‘Anwar Jamal Shemza: Search for Cultural Identity’; 42, spring 1998, John Holt, ‘Anwar Shemza: A Search for the Significant’.

Kumiko Shimizu (b 1948, Osaka, Japan). Arrived in Britain, 1976, studied Fine Art at Reading University, 1978–1982. Third Text 8/9, autumn/winter 1989, Special Issue: The Other Story, Rasheed Araeen, ‘Conversation with Kumiko Shimizu’.

Francis N Souza (b 1924, Goa, India – d Mumbia, India, 2002). Studied at Sir J J School of Art, Bombay, 1940, expelled for political activities; founded Progressive Artists’ Group, Bombay, 1947; Bombay Art Society Award, 1947; came to London, 1949, studied Drawing at Central School of Art, London; represented Britain at the Guggenheim International Award, New York, 1958; prize winner, John Moores Liverpool exhibition, 1958. Moved to New York 1967. Third Text 8/9, autumn/winter 1989, Special Issue: The Other Story, Geeta Kapur, ‘Francis Newton Souza: Devil in the Flesh’; 19, summer 1992, Special Issue: Autobiography, Francis N Souza, ‘Nirvana of a Maggot’.