N0tes：
A Partial History of the Artist Placement Group
This reader was published for a partial retrospective of the Artist Placement Group at Summer hall, Edinburgh in 2016. As a stand-alone document, it provides a succinct introduction to this groundbreaking practice.
Art & Economics Group (APG) was founded in 1971 in Berlin and London. The group has been criticized for its ‘naivety’ and ‘reformist’ approach. The 2015 exhibition at Summer hall in Edinburgh is a selection of APG projects. The exhibition presents documents and results.
The Artist Placement Group (APG) initiated and organized ‘placements’ for artists in industry or.public institutions. The group was formed in the mid-1960s, around the couple Barbara Steven and John Latham. The statement, Context is half the work, testifies to this spatial and ideological shift; out of the studios and into the institutions of society. The early APG placements were almost exclusively with partners from industry. From the mid-1970s onwards, the APG initiated closer collaborations with public institutions. The artists were intended to function as independent observers within the organization.
Garth Evans
Garth Evans spent two years on a placement at the British Steel Corporation (BSC) The BSC was created by the nationalization of the steel industry in 1967. During his placement, Evans familiarized himself with the production methods and material qualities of steel. He argued in the papers that the employees were not offered a meaningful, enriching work experience and that the workers were not supported in their work. Evans identified a field of activity for artists in an industrial context. Evans received very positive feedback on his work, but the representatives of the company were not fond of his ideas about corporate culture.
David Hall
David Hall’s TV Interruptions (7 TVPieces): The Installation, which was developed by Hall in 2006, were created after a shift in his practice. In 1971, Hall was invited to participate in the exhibition Locations Edin-burgh. Together with Alistair Mackintosh, he approached Scottish Television to include a number of video pieces in their programmed .
George Levantis
George Levantis’ placement on container ships operated by Ocean Fleets Ltd, was mediated by the Seafarers Education Service (SES) The SES had al-ready placed a number of artists on the ships, who offered drawing and painting lessons to the crew. Levantis refused to give art classes, leading to tensions between the crew and the artist. Pieces of Sea Fall Through the Stars, by George Levantis, is on display at the National Gallery of Art, London.
Roger Coward with Gavin Brown, Roland Lewis, Evadne Stevens, Frances Viner
A team of urbanists and sociologists worked on an Inner Area Study (IAS) with the aim of developing urban renewal for the dilapidated and neglected city district.