| Peter Liversidge | |
|---|---|
Peter Liversidge in 2009 |
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| Born | 1973 Lincoln, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Artist |
Peter Liversidge (born 1973, Lincoln, England) is a British contemporary artist notable for his diverse artistic practice and use of proposals.
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Peter Liversidge studied art at the University of Plymouth and film and photography at Montana State University-Bozeman. He moved to London in 1996 where he now lives with his wife and two children.
Over the course of 10 years, using an Olivetti[1] typewriter, Liversidge has created proposals for exhibitions that range from the simple to the impossible.[2] He experiments with what he describes as the "notion of creativity", often realised as objects, performances, or happenings over the course of an exhibition.[3] Liversidge says of his proposals that: ".. it's important that some of the proposals are actually realized, but no more so that the others that remain only as text on a piece of A4 paper. In a sense they are all possible and the bookwork that collates the proposals allows the reader to curate their own show, and because of its size and scale the bookwork allows an individual to interact with each of the proposals on their own terms, one to one."[4]
He draws inspiration not just from artists such as On Kawara, Fischli and Weiss and Keith Arnatt, but also from artists such as Joseph Cornell and the Reverend Howard Finster, as well as inveterate tinkerers like his own grandfathers.[5] Liversidge is driven by the generative notion of creativity and the idea that art is most successful when it exists slightly outside of formalist notions of fine art. The physical objects Liversidge produces often include banal, everyday materials that are repurposed or co-opted for his use. His work, as seen in a lot of his proposals, requires the presence of the viewer and their interpretation of the proposals to complete the aesthetic experience.
Liversidge has worked with, and exhibited at, numerous institutions, such as Tate Liverpool in 2008,[6] the Centre d'Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona in 2008, Bloomberg SPACE, London in 2009 and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 2010. He has also developed projects for the Europalia Festival in 2007, Art Basel, Miami, in 2009 and Edinburgh's Sculpture Park, Jupiter Artland, also in 2009.
While Liversidge's work is in numerous public and private collections, his performances, such as Gin Stand and Plum Bread present the viewers with a unique piece of work to take away with them.[7]. Another aspect of Liversidge's work is sending various objects through the post. "For Peter Liversidge the postal service is also a collaborator in the work. The attached post labels and alterations are like contributions to the piece."[8]
He has also created video projections for the bands Wires Under Tension[9] and Balmorhea.[10]