Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
16 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3JA
9 September 2022
Convened by Lucia Farinati and Jennifer Thatcher
This seminar aimed to create a network of historians, curators, artists and critics who are interested in discussing methodological and ethical questions about interviews, as well as uncovering and mapping British interview collections.
How should we define artist interviews and how do they differ from other interviews? Why has there been no history of the artist interview as a critical genre in its own right?
Focusing on case studies and examples from British magazines, collections and archives, Lucia Farinati and Jennifer Thatcher introduced their research on artist interviews. They scrutinised the process of conducting and disseminating an interview, from pre-production to post-production, considering the ethics implicated in what is modified. Treating the life of the artist interview – rather than just the life of the artist – as an object of study offers an alternative to the biographical model of interviews (as emphasised in oral history, for example). This approach aims to make visible the material conditions of producing an interview, as well as the social relations it engenders. Attendees of the event shared their experiences of interviewing and interview collections.
