Within the first 24 hours of the subway bombings in London, artist Billy Conklin was observing and taking pictures. Is London Burning at the Museum of New Art is Conklin’s record of the emotional gamut he witnessed — rage, sorrow, disbelief and fear. The photos speak more eloquently than any editor’s editorial or any politician’s speech.

Art critics and connoisseurs are not known for donnybrooks, but at least one London correspondent has confided that an interlude of polite fisticuffs followed a discussion of Billy Conklin’s works at a certain show in the UK. Conklin is a maverick with a provocative — some say subversive — take on what art is meant to be in a pluralistic society. His pieces have been occasionally likened to “the psychoanalytic concept of transference.” Conklin's... current offering at the Museum of New Art, is non-transferable, but the ideas and questions that arise in your head may be freely taken home at the end of the night.

- Robert del Valle, for REAL DETROIT

Billy Conklin was born in Leeds in 1976, and currently lives and works between London and Detroit. His work has been exhibited abroad extensively. Conkln received an Arts Council Research and Development Grant in 2004 and is a finalist for the 2008 Prinzhorn Award.

 

Billy Conklin is one of the so-called second generation Young British Artists (YBAs). Although several early exhibitions caused Conklin to be well known in art circles, he was largely unknown until he appeared before the public on a BBC television program. It was a South Bank production that visited young artist's studios. Conklin was completely drunk at the time, repeatedly saying he wanted his "telly" back and brandishing what turned out to be a starter's gun. It seems he drunkenly thought the television crew was from his cable company. It all ended with Conklin pushing a grip through a plate glass window. Although no one was injured, the incident secured Conklin's career.

 

Critical responses to Conklin's influence remain in dispute. His output in a short period of five years contains some of the most virulent anti-icons of contemporary art; the centerfold icon especially has been much imitated and parodied in books and advertising, and his Is London Burning series has been equally contentious. However, Conklin himself admits that he has had serious drug and alcohol problems for much of these years and much of the work done since 2004 is arguably repetitive and reductive. The majority of Conklin's works are made with assistants and other technical supports which some argue makes his authorship questionable. It is argued though his focus on celebrity has contributed to the trivialization of contemporary culture. If nothing else, Conklin certainly has had a key role in giving the visual arts a continued profile in British public life.

 

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