We had the pleasure of interviewing four groundbreaking British artists at the Art Party Conference last month, November 2013. Films of the interviews are now available to watch online.
Entitled 'Values Overhead and Underrated', the interviews explored the contrasting artistic practices of Haroon Mirza, Janette Parris, Cornelia Parker and John Smith whose works span the mediums of sound, installation, animation and video.
Interviewed by our Chief Executive Gilane Tawadros, the artists considered the role of the visual artist in today's society and the concepts of value and productivity.
The interviews were filmed by the artist and filmmaker David Bickerstaff.
Watch films of the interviews
Haroon Mirza
"I find the value systems around things - specifically art - strange, and in order to work with them you have to destroy these ideas of value."
Janette Parris
"I like masking the seriousness of a work with humour so maybe people will question what they're laughing at."
Cornelia Parker
"Everybody needs a quiet place for contemplation, which is what you might get from reading poetry or novels. I think visual art can have the same function."
John Smith
"What we need is for people to understand each other a bit more, so politically and socially, art is very important in that way."
'Values Overhead and Underrated' was part of our programme for the
Art Party Conference, produced by the artist Bob and Roberta Smith and Cresent Arts, on Saturday 23 November 2013.
Read our synopsis of the Art Party Conference.
Read more about our involvement.
Watch more films on our YouTube channel.
Image: Film still, Cornelia Parker interviewed by DACS at the Art Party Conference.