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Barry Joule Archive Works on
Paper Attributed to Francis
Bacon
By David Alan Mellor
August 2000
Irish Museum of Modern Art
Distributed By Trans-Atlantic Publications
1873654847
96 Pages, Color Illustrations, 9 x 11"
$54.50 Paper
The works on paper in this exhibition come from the Barry Joule Archive and are attributed to Francis Bacon. There is some, but not much, continuing debate about their origins in the studio of the artist and at the time of writing, the Archive, which includes the X Album and related material has not yet been fully accepted by the Francis Bacon Estate. There has been much discussion in the general and art media in Britain but very few people have actually seen the material first hand.
It is in this context of debate that the Irish Museum of
Modern Art presents to a wider public a 'study' of a selection of pieces
from the Joule Archive. The material is presented as contested in its nature
and purpose as well 
as its attribution. The artist's apparent disregard for
this and similar material from the studio does not mean that it is not significant
nor that it cannot provide insights into the thinking of an important artist
of the post-war period. A wider public will now have the opportunity to examine
this material in the exhibition and this publication.
It is, anyway, one of the principles of this Museum to explore art as a
contested rather than a consensual process in the belief that presenting
this contest can empower the public, from the general visitor to the scholar,
to negotiate rather than receive meaning and therefore constantly recharge
the art object. Museums are inevitably involved in historicising art but
in this case the aim is to historicise the process as well as the products
of an artist's practice.
This is true of the Museum's approach in general and is necessary
with this body of work in particular - expecially when one considers the
paintings for which Francis Bacon is justifiably celebrated. It is as if
a traditional view of his practice as a painter is problematised by this
archive material just as, for example, sacred texts in medieval manuscripts
were problematised but enriched by profane marginalia or the way new art
regularly problematises and, I would argue, enriches tradition.
CONTENTS:
Francis Bacon: A Brief Memoir
Graphic Eveidence: Vision & Corporeality
Album Descriptions and Plates
Working Documents:
Politics & History
Portraits
Art, Animals & Africa
Athletic Body
Boxing
Cricket
Biography
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