Interview with Duncan Mountford

ART, WHATEVER IT TAKES

Since the early pandemic in 2020, Rome Art Program has conducted a series of interviews, “Art, Whatever It Takes.”
Artists, Art Critics, and Art Historians living in Italy, the U.S., and U.K., share their insights during these powerful times.

Interview with Duncan Mountford

Duncan Mountford was born in Liverpool, UK. Studied MA Sculpture at Winchester School of Art from 1993 to 1994. In 1998 awarded scholarship funding for a PhD at Nottingham Trent University, completed in 2004. Exhibited nationally and internationally, and been a Visiting Professor at Taipei National University of the Arts since 2013.

RAP: What is your definition of “art” today?

Duncan Mountford: Art is a question; an interrogation of the world and the artist’s imaginative response to the world. Art is always in the context of an audience, as communication of ideas. My ideas about art are always in dialogue with the wider political and social context we all inhabit, so any definition of art will always be fluid.

RAP: Art is dynamic and regenerates itself… how does it change, and how did it change us?

Duncan: Has art changed us? I hope imagination and creativity will be valued more than money and power, but….

RAP: When (and how) did you understand that art was becoming very important in your life?

Duncan: When I realised art was a living thing, and not something dead in a museum (for which I must thank the John Moores and the Peter Moores exhibitions in Liverpool in the 1970’s).

RAP: What role does art play today? What are the “great figures” who have recently changed it? Do you feel close to any of these figures?

Duncan: Art is a means to question memory, history, the present and the possible futures; it is how we think through who we are and where we are going, individually and collectively. I do not believe in the idea of the “great figure”.

RAP: Are there still traditional figures such as collectors, muses, mecenate and patrons, in today’s art and society interaction model?

Duncan: There are collectors certainly (though not of my work…), and I presume there might be a patron or two. I not very interested in seeing art as a commodity. As to the muse, I have no idea what that means in the real world (as opposed to romantic fantasy).

RAP: How have the new technologies and media culture changed art today, improving or worsening it…? What do you feel are your biggest challenges?

Duncan: Art remains art, and new technologies have just given the artist new tools. The biggest challenges are the hype around NFTs (which just seem to be a further way of turning mediocre art into a saleable commodity), and the financial outlay necessary to produce AR and immersive works.

RAP: Art as a mirror of man, in this moment of emergency seems to be shattered …what do these fragments reflect now?… Shadow or light of the moment?

Duncan: Both shadow and light, as art has always done.

RAP: Understanding, interpreting, and then possibly judging the work of art; which is the right path when we are in front of a piece of art?

Duncan: Interpreting in the light of your own knowledge, as art exists in the interface between the thing made and the viewer. Judge if you like (we all do), but we can often be wrong. And understand the context if you need to engage further. Most of all, enjoy, even if you do not like the work.

RAP: Which is the real role of Academies and Art schools today? What can artists learn from these institutions today?

Duncan: To provide a place for experimentation and discussion. And to be open places that engage with the public….and to be free from fees.

RAP: Art too has undergone a complex process of globalization; can having an authentic and genuine style be an advantage or a drag for an artist?

Duncan: If what you do does not come from you, why do it? The great joy of contemporary art is the multiple perspective it presents rather than any global style. If you are thinking of what you do as being an advantage or a drag you are only responding to the art market…art is not business.

RAP: How do Art Galleries and Museums position themselves today, and, in your opinion, how should they?

Duncan: Free, open, available to all, with spaces where artists and the public can engage.

RAP: “Figuration” vs “Abstraction”. Which of the two is better descriptive of the period we live in? Which one will have a better future?

Duncan: I think this is a false opposition.

RAP: Today we often speak of “emerging artists”; what advice based on your experience do you feel you can give to young artists?

Duncan: As a still-emerging artist (I am waiting for that big break) my advice is to keep going, find ways to make your work and do not give up hope or become a producer of pretty things for the market.

RAP: Art as a lens for reading the present, can it modify the space and time we pass through? …will art save us?

Duncan: Will art save us? Artists are just the same as everyone else, and only by a concerted effort can we all overcome the problems facing the world. Art can instil imagination and creativity into this journey, and give us ways to think about the changes we need to make.

@mountfordtheartist

ART, WHATEVER IT TAKES

Since the early pandemic in 2020, Rome Art Program has conducted a series of interviews, “Art, Whatever It Takes.”Artists, Art Critics, and Art Historians living in Italy, the U.S., and U.K., share their insights during these powerful times.

Interview with Duncan Mountford

RAP: What is your definition of “art” today?

RAP: Art is dynamic and regenerates itself… how does it change, and how did it change us?

Duncan: Has art changed us? I hope imagination and creativity will be valued more than money and power, but….

RAP: When (and how) did you understand that art was becoming very important in your life?

Duncan: When I realised art was a living thing, and not something dead in a museum (for which I must thank the John Moores and the Peter Moores exhibitions in Liverpool in the 1970’s).

RAP: What role does art play today? What are the “great figures” who have recently changed it? Do you feel close to any of these figures?

Duncan: Art is a means to question memory, history, the present and the possible futures; it is how we think through who we are and where we are going, individually and collectively. I do not believe in the idea of the “great figure”.

RAP: Are there still traditional figures such as collectors, muses, mecenate and patrons, in today’s art and society interaction model?

Duncan: There are collectors certainly (though not of my work…), and I presume there might be a patron or two. I not very interested in seeing art as a commodity. As to the muse, I have no idea what that means in the real world (as opposed to romantic fantasy).

RAP: How have the new technologies and media culture changed art today, improving or worsening it…? What do you feel are your biggest challenges?

Duncan: Art remains art, and new technologies have just given the artist new tools. The biggest challenges are the hype around NFTs (which just seem to be a further way of turning mediocre art into a saleable commodity), and the financial outlay necessary to produce AR and immersive works.

RAP: Art as a mirror of man, in this moment of emergency seems to be shattered …what do these fragments reflect now?… Shadow or light of the moment?

Duncan: Both shadow and light, as art has always done.

RAP: Understanding, interpreting, and then possibly judging the work of art; which is the right path when we are in front of a piece of art?

Duncan: Interpreting in the light of your own knowledge, as art exists in the interface between the thing made and the viewer. Judge if you like (we all do), but we can often be wrong. And understand the context if you need to engage further. Most of all, enjoy, even if you do not like the work.

RAP: Which is the real role of Academies and Art schools today? What can artists learn from these institutions today?

Duncan: To provide a place for experimentation and discussion. And to be open places that engage with the public….and to be free from fees.

RAP: Art too has undergone a complex process of globalization; can having an authentic and genuine style be an advantage or a drag for an artist?

Duncan: If what you do does not come from you, why do it? The great joy of contemporary art is the multiple perspective it presents rather than any global style. If you are thinking of what you do as being an advantage or a drag you are only responding to the art market…art is not business.

RAP: How do Art Galleries and Museums position themselves today, and, in your opinion, how should they?

Duncan: Free, open, available to all, with spaces where artists and the public can engage.

RAP: “Figuration” vs “Abstraction”. Which of the two is better descriptive of the period we live in? Which one will have a better future?

Duncan: I think this is a false opposition.

RAP: Today we often speak of “emerging artists”; what advice based on your experience do you feel you can give to young artists?

Duncan: As a still-emerging artist (I am waiting for that big break) my advice is to keep going, find ways to make your work and do not give up hope or become a producer of pretty things for the market.

RAP: Art as a lens for reading the present, can it modify the space and time we pass through? …will art save us?

Duncan: Will art save us? Artists are just the same as everyone else, and only by a concerted effort can we all overcome the problems facing the world. Art can instil imagination and creativity into this journey, and give us ways to think about the changes we need to make.

Since the early pandemic in 2020, Rome Art Program has conducted a series of interviews, “Art, Whatever It Takes.”
Artists, Art Critics, and Art Historians living in Italy, the U.S., and U.K., share their insights during these powerful times.