Editing Martin Creed

{{short description|British artist, composer and performer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox artist
| name          = Martin Creed
| image         = Martin Creed Self Portrait Work -3827, 2021 (Photo by Hugo Glendinning).jpg
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| birth_name    = 
| birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1968|10|21|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Wakefield]], England
| death_date    = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| death_place   = 
| nationality   = 
| spouse        = 
| field         = 
| training      = [[Slade School of Art]] at [[University College London]] 
| movement      = 
| works         = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[Work No. 227: The lights going on and off]]''
* ''[[The Scotsman Steps|Work No. 1059: The Scotsman Steps]]''
* ''[[All the Bells|Work No. 1197: All The Bells]]''
}}
| patrons       = 
| awards        = [[Turner Prize]] (2001)
| elected       = 
| website       = http://www.martincreed.com/ <!-- {{URL|Example.com}} -->
 <!-- {{URL|Example.com}} -->
| bgcolour      = 
}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Martincreednothing1997 2.jpg|thumb|Martin Creed and Owada, ''Nothing'' (1997){{deletable image-caption|Monday, 28 March 2011}}]] -->

'''Martin Creed''' (born 21 October 1968) is a British artist, composer and performer. He won the [[Turner Prize]] in 2001 for exhibitions during the preceding year,<ref name=turnerTate>{{cite web |url=http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/turner-prize-2001/turner-prize-2001-artists-martin-creed |title=Turner Prize 2001 artists: Martin Creed |publisher=Tate |access-date=13 January 2018}}</ref> with the jury praising his audacity for exhibiting a single installation, ''[[Work No. 227: The lights going on and off]]'', in the Turner Prize show.<ref name=turnerBBC>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1701400.stm |title=Critics split over Turner winner |date=10 December 2001 |work=BBC News |access-date=13 January 2018}}</ref> Creed lives and works in London.<ref>[http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/martin-creed-79080 Martin Creed: What’s the point of it?, 29 January – 27 April 2014] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230025555/http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/martin-creed-79080 |date=30 December 2013 }} [[Hayward Gallery]], London.</ref><ref name=autogenerated1>[https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/my-london-martin-creed-a3334511.html My London: Martin Creed | London Evening Standard<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
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==Life and education ==
Martin Creed was born in [[Wakefield]], England. He moved with his family to [[Glasgow]] at age 3 when his silversmith father got a job teaching there.<ref name="When Art Is Beside the Point">Farah Nayeri (24 January 2014), [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/25/arts/international/25iht-Martin-Creed-When-Art-Is-Beside-the-Point.html When Art Is Beside the Point] ''[[International Herald Tribune]]''.</ref> He grew up revering art and music. His parents were [[Quakers]], and he was taken often to Quaker meetings.<ref name="When Art Is Beside the Point"/> He attended [[Lenzie Academy]],<ref>Lenzie Academy [http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/artist-in-paper-chase-for-prize-controversial-turner-award-down-to-short-list-of-four-1.185642 Artist in paper chase for prize:Controversial Turner award down to short-list of four] ''[[Glasgow Herald]]''.</ref> and studied [[art]] at the [[Slade School of Art]] at [[University College London]] from 1986 to 1990. Since then he has lived in London, apart from a period (2000—2004) living in [[Alicudi]], an island off Sicily in the South of Italy. He currently lives and works back in London.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

== Work ==

Films, installations, paintings, theatre and live-action sculptures are all characteristic of his work. Making use of whatever medium seems suitable.<ref>[[Roberta Smith]] (13 July 2007), [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/arts/design/13cree.html The Bearable Lightness of Martin Creed] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref> Since 1987 he has numbered each of his works, and most of his titles are descriptive: for example ''Work No. 79: some Blu-tack kneaded, rolled into a ball and depressed against a wall'' (1993) and ''Work No. 88, a sheet of A4 paper crumpled into a ball'' (1995).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thetimes.com/?Sunday | title=It's pretty good rubbish and I'm not binning it | first=David | last=Johnson | publisher=The Sunday Times | date=3 June 2001 | access-date=23 December 2022}}</ref> Creed's work ''Work No. 200: Half the air in a given space'' (1998) is a room which has half of its cubic space filled with balloons.
[[File:Work No. 204 in Turin, Italy, 1999.jpg|thumb|'Work No. 204: Half the air in a given space' on display in Turin, Italy, 1999. The gallerist, Alberto Peola, sits in his office during the exhibition]]

===Projects===
Creed won the 2001 [[Turner Prize]] for two exhibitions, ''Martin Creed Works'' and ''Art Now: Martin Creed'' shown across England during the preceding year.<ref name=turnerTate/> His submission for the Turner Prize show at the [[Tate Gallery]] was ''[[Work No. 227: The lights going on and off]]''. The work was an empty room in which the lights switched on and off at 5-second intervals. This created a great deal of press attention, most of it questioning whether something as [[minimalism|minimalist]] as this could be considered art at all. Nevertheless, the jury praised this work, saying they "admired the audacity in presenting a single work in the exhibition and noted its strength, rigour, wit and sensitivity to the site".<ref name=turnerBBC/> [[File:Martin Creed 56653sAI.jpg|thumb|Work No. 850 an athlete running through Tate Britain gallery]]His work has often excited controversy: a visitor threw eggs at the walls of Creed's empty room as a protest against the prize, declaring that Creed's presentations were not real art and that "painting is in danger of becoming an extinct skill in this country".<ref name="turnerprotests">Youngs, Ian (2002)[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2382373.stm "The art of Turner protests", BBC] www.bbc.co.uk, 31 October 2002. Accessed 8 January 2007</ref> In recent years Creed has been exhibiting paintings in nearly every exhibition he has done.

''[[All The Bells|Work No. 1197: All the bells in the country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes]]'' was commissioned to herald the start of the [[2012 Summer Olympics]].

In 2009, he wrote and choreographed ''Work No. 1020: Ballet'', a live performance of Creed's music, ballet, words and film, originally produced by [[Sadler's Wells]], London and performed in the Lilian Baylis Studio. In 2010, ''Work No. 1020: Ballet'' was performed at the [[Traverse Theatre]], Edinburgh as part of the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]] and at The Kitchen, New York, in December 2013. ''Work No. 1020'' was also performed in 2014 at the [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]] in connection with Creed's retrospective at the [[Hayward Gallery]], London. He designed a work for [[Victoria Beckham]]'s store on [[Dover Street]] in [[Mayfair]], London in 2015.<ref name="sothebysvictoriabeckhamcollaborates">{{cite news |title=Victoria Beckham Collaborates With Sotheby's Ahead of Old Masters Sale |url=http://www.sothebys.com/content/sothebys/en/news-video/blogs/all-blogs/past-masters/2018/06/victoria-beckham-collaborates-with-sothebys-ahead-of-old-masters-sale.html |access-date=15 June 2018 |work=Sotheby's |date=7 June 2018}}</ref>

Many of his works are on free public view, like the Scotsman Steps in Edinburgh, DON'T WORRY at St Peter's Church, Cologne, The singing lifts at The Royal Festival Hall, London, and also at the Centro Botin in Santander, and the huge spinning sign MOTHERS on a roof in Fort Worth, Texas.

Many works too are in Museum collections worldwide, from the floor work at Colleccion Jumex in Mexico City (permanently installed) to The lights going on and off at the Museum of Modern Art New York.

'Work No. 1000' consists of 1000 hand prints made with broccoli, and exemplifies Creed's funny, child-like approach turned up to eleven.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hyperallergic.com/116092/counting-up-with-martin-creed/ | title=Counting Up With Martin Creed | first=Mark | last=Sheerin | publisher=Hyperallergic| date=21 March 2014 | accessdate=25 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ronnenfineart.com/collecting-in-context/martin-creed | title=Martin Creed - Ronnen Fine Art| publisher=Ronnen Fine Art}}</ref>
Creed continues to exhibit work internationally and regularly gives talks and plays live with his band.

=== Permanent installations ===
[[File:"Everything is Going to be Alright" artwork, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand.jpg|''Everything is Going to be Alright'' at Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand|thumb |right]] 
Creed's ''[[Everything is going to be alright|Work No. 975 EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT]],'' was installed on the facade of the [[Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art]] in November 2009. Although ''Work No. 975'' is a unique sculpture, the phrase has been used on several related works, each assigned its own work number. Previous to ''Work No. 975,'' a red neon text appeared in New York's Times Square (''Work No.225'' 1999, commissioned by [[Public Art Fund]]), a thirty-metre-long version was installed in Detroit (''Work No.790'' 2007), and another text in white neon ran the 23&nbsp;metre length of the Rennie Museum's façade in Vancouver's Chinatown (''Work No.851'' 2008).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lederman |first1=Marsha |title=Martin Creed finds a home in Vancouver's Rennie |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/martin-creed-finds-a-home-in-vancouvers-rennie/article598145/ |newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=20 May 2011 }}</ref> Most recently, a 46-metre multicoloured version was commissioned for [[Christchurch Art Gallery]], in the advent of its reopening after almost five years of earthquake-related closure.<ref>{{cite web |title=British artist Martin Creed brings 'ironic' message of hope to Christchurch |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/art-and-stage/visual-art/72427405/british-artist-martin-creed-brings-ironic-message-of-hope-to-christchurch |website=Stuff |language=en |date=25 September 2015}}</ref>

In 2011, Creed was commissioned by [[Fruitmarket Gallery]] to make a work as part of the restoration of the historic [[The Scotsman Steps|Scotsman Steps]] in Edinburgh. Creed's ''Work No. 1059'' was subsequently installed, cladding each of the 104 steps and landings in a different type of marble. ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' art critic Jonathan Jones called it "a generous, modest masterpiece of contemporary public art".<ref>Jones, J. 3 September 2013. [https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2013/sep/03/martin-creed-lights-on-off 'Martin Creed's light goes on and off for me']. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 29 December 2013.</ref>

In 2012, Creed was the first artist to participate in the long-term programme of artist-conceived restaurants at Sketch, London. Together with a series of paintings and wall drawings, Creed specifically created ''Work No. 1343'' where every single piece of cutlery, glass, chair and table was different and brought together a mix of the mass-produced and hand-crafted, from classic antiques to contemporary design from all around the world. ''Work No. 1347,'' still on display at the restaurant, consists of 96 different types of marble, in a herringbone formation across the floor.

In 2019, ''Work No. 2950: WHATEVER'' was placed on the roof of a building in [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]]. It is a large multicoloured [[neon]] sign showing the word “WHATEVER”.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Martin Creed|url=https://michaellett.com/artist/martin-creed/|website=michaellett}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Martin Creed|url=https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2781-martin-creed|website=hauserwirth}}</ref>

===Music===
Creed's first band, Owada, was formed in 1994 with Adam McEwen and Keiko Owada. In 1997, they released their first CD, ''Nothing'', on [[David Cunningham (musician)|David Cunningham]]'s Piano label. Sound has also featured in his gallery-based work, with pieces using doorbells, drum machines and metronomes. Since 1999 he has not used the band name "Owada". In 2000, he published a recording of his songs titled ''I Can't Move'' under his own name with the arts publisher [[Art Metropole]], in Toronto.

In 2010, he provided the cover art for a [[Futuristic Retro Champions]] single, while supporting its launch with an appearance with his own band with [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOTCJPcpQac Keiko Owada] on bass, Genevieve Murphy on keyboards, Ben Kane on drums and Anouchka Grose on steel guitar.[https://www.fondazionenicolatrussardi.com/en/incursioni/martin_creed_and_his_band/]

Creed started his own label, Telephone Records, and released the single "Thinking/ Not Thinking" in early 2011, following it up with the single "Where You Go" in 2012. Releases accelerated in 2012, with the Double AA Side single "Fuck Off" and "Die" coming out on [[Moshi Moshi Records]] in May 2012, in advance of the album ''Love To You'', released on Moshi Moshi in July 2012. The album is produced by David Cunningham, Martin Creed and The Nice NIce Boys (Andrew Knowles of [[Johnny Marr|Johnny Marr & The Healers]] and [[Nick McCarthy]] of [[Franz Ferdinand (band)|Franz Ferdinand]]). The Vinyl Factory worked with Creed to produce a limited edition of the release which featured hand-painted covers by Creed. The single "You're The One For Me" came out at the same time as the album.

January 2014 saw the release ''Mind Trap'', an album that featured songs alongside instrumental pieces for orchestra. Creed sings and plays the instruments, supported by gospel singers Dee Alexander and [[Yvonne Gage]] (who have worked with The Police, Madonna and R.Kelly) and Andy Knowles (musical credits include stints with the Fiery Furnaces & Franz Ferdinand) playing drums on If You're Lonely, You Return and Don't Tell Me. Keiko Owada plays bass on Gift Attack / Don't Won't. Co-produced by Martin with Andy Knowles, the album was recorded in London, Chicago and the Czech Republic. Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand and Mark Ralph (who works with Hot Chip) provided additional production. The Chicago songs, which form the heart of the album, were recorded all-analogue at John McEntire's (Tortoise) Soma Studios. Engineered by Bill Skibbe (The Kills/Franz Ferdinand). It also includes 3 specially commissioned orchestral works: ''Work No. 955'' was originally written for the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, ''Work No. 994'' was composed for the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra and ''Work No. 1375'' was commissioned by the London Sinfonietta. These pieces were recorded for the album by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mikel Toms. All lyrics and music on the album are written by Martin Creed, with the exception of the New Shutters which is Martin's arrangement of a traditional Neapolitan folk song. The album sleeve features one of Martin's paintings, ''Work No. 1674: Anouchka'' and was designed by Andy Knowles, who has recently directed videos for Franz Ferdinand and The Cribs. Martin Creed is also much loved by [[Franz Ferdinand (band)|Franz Ferdinand]] - regular attendees at his gigs and co-producers on his album 'Mind Trap' -  as well as Moshi Moshi label-mates Slow Club.

A new body of audiovisual work was released in late November 2015 in response to the [[Refugees of the Syrian Civil War|Syrian refugee crisis]]. The double A-side single “Let Them In / Border Control” was made available via Telephone Records as free downloads on SoundCloud. Both songs are accompanied by videos which Creed made himself.

In July 2016, Martin Creed released a new album entitled ''Thoughts Lined Up''. The album includes the singles "Understanding" and "Princess Taxi Girl" for which accompanying videos have been released.

=== Discography ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Title
!Type
!Date
!Format
!Label
|-
|What The Fuck Am I Doing?
|Single
|2017
|Digital
|Telephone Records
|-
|Blow And Suck
|Single
|2017
|Digital
|Telephone Records
|-
|It's You
|Single
|2016
|Digital
|Telephone Records
|-
|Princess Taxi Girl
|Single
|2016
|Digital
|Telephone Records
|-
|Thoughts Lined Up
|Album
|2016
|CD, Digital
|Telephone Records
|-
|Understanding 
|Single
|2016
|Digital
|Telephone Records
|-
|Let Them In / Border Control
|Double A-Side Single
|2015
|Digital
|Telephone Records
|-
|Mind Trap
|Album
|2014
|CD, 12" Vinyl, Special Edition 12" Vinyl, Digital
|Telephone Records
|-
|Blow And Suck / I Want You
|Single
|2013
|Special Edition 12" Vinyl
|The Vinyl Factory
|-
|Chicago
|EP
|2012
|Special Edition 12" Vinyl
|Telephone Records / The Vinyl Factory / MCA Chicago
|-
|You're The One For Me
|Single
|2012
|Digital
|Moshi Moshi Records
|-
|Love To You
|Album
|2012
|CD, 12" Vinyl, Special Edition 12" Vinyl, Digital
|Moshi Moshi Records
|-
|Fuck Off / Die
|Double A-Side Single
|2012
|Digital
|Moshi Moshi Records
|-
|Where You Go
|Split Single
|2012
|CD & DVD, Special Edition 12" Vinyl, Digital
|Telephone Records
|-
|Thinking / Not Thinking
|Single
|2011
|CD & DVD, Digital
|Telephone Records
|-
|Thinking / Not Thinking / Words
|Single
|2009
|7" Vinyl
|In collaboration with Hiromi Yoshii, Japan
|-
|Work No. 815
|Single
|2008
|7" Vinyl
|Smart Guy Records
|-
|I Can't Move
|EP
|2000
|CD
|Art Metropole, Canada
|-
|EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT
|Single
|1999
|CD
|Pier Trust
|-
|Nothing (Owada)
|Album
|1997
|CD
|Piano
|}

===On art===

In an interview published in the 2002 book ''Art Now: Interviews with Modern Artists'', Creed explains that he used to 'make paintings' but never liked having to decide what to paint. He decided to stop making paintings and instead to think about what it meant, and why he wanted to make things. He says:

{{cquote|The only thing I feel like I know is that I want to make things. Other than that, I feel like I don’t know. So the problem is in trying to make something without knowing what I want. [...] I think it’s all to do with ''wanting'' to communicate. I mean, I think I want to make things because I want to communicate with people, because I want to be loved, because I want to express myself.}}

Creed says that he makes art works not as part of an academic exploration of 'conceptual' art, but rather from a wish to connect with people, 'wanting to communicate and wanting to say hello'. The work is therefore primarily [[emotion]]al:

{{cquote|To me it’s emotional. Aye. To me that’s the starting point. I mean, I do it because I want to make something. I think that’s a desire, you know, or a need. I think that I recognise that I want to make something, and so I try to make something. But then you get to thinking about it and that’s where the problems start because you can’t help thinking about it, wondering whether it’s good or bad. But to me it’s emotional more than anything else.}}

==Exhibitions==
In 1996, [[Richard Long (artist)|Richard Long]] and Roger Ackling selected Creed to exhibit at [[EASTinternational]]. In the decade since winning the Turner Prize he has exhibited extensively throughout the world, including large survey shows at Trussardi Foundation, Milan ('I Like Things'), [[Bard College]], New York ('Feelings'), and a touring exhibition which started at [[Ikon Gallery]] Birmingham and toured to Hiroshima and Seoul. 
<ref>{{Cite web|title= Martin Creed at the Armory|url= https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/3664-martin-creed-mothers}}</ref>

The first major survey show of Creed's, 'What's the point of it?', took place at the Hayward Gallery, London, in January 2014. The exhibition included a number of his best-known works, from the installation ''Work No. 227 The Lights Going On and Off'' (2000), ''Work No. 293 A sheet of paper crumpled into a ball'' (2003), to his epic sculpture ''Work No. 1092 MOTHERS'' (2011). Coinciding with the exhibition at the Hayward, the [[Southbank Centre]] commissioned Martin to compose a new piece for the Royal Festival Hall organ, resulting in ''Work No''. ''1815,'' a performance alongside some of J.S Bach's greatest organ works.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Martin Creed in Seoul|url=https://www.artlyst.com/news/lights-on-martin-creed-unveils-new-composition-inspired-by-js-bachs-organ-works/}}</ref>

Creed's largest survey show to date took place at Park Avenue Armory, New York from June - August 2016, curated by Tom Eccles and Hans-Ulrich Obrist. Entitled ’The Back Door,’ using both the Wade Thompson Drill Hall and the historic interiors of the building, the show brought together a sequence of works from Creed's more than 20-year career.<ref>{{Cite web| title= Martin Creed and Bach |url= https://www.armoryonpark.org/programs_events/detail/martin_creed}}</ref>

In 2017 he had an exposition in [[Museum Voorlinden]] in the Netherlands titled ''Say Cheese''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.voorlinden.nl/tentoonstelling/martin-creed-say-cheese/|title=Martin CreedSAY CHEESE! - Museum Voorlinden|work=Museum Voorlinden|access-date=30 May 2017|language=nl-NL}}</ref> In this exhibition he showed a wall with 1000 broccoli prints in various colors, he filled a room with blue balloons for walking through. In another room he showed many [[metronome]]s were ticking at different speeds.

In 2019, the Centro Botín Centre held an exhibition called ''Amigos.''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Westall|first=Mark|date=25 March 2019|title=NEW MARTIN CREED EXHIBITION AMIGOS OPENS THIS APRIL|url=https://fadmagazine.com/2019/03/25/new-martin-creed-exhibition-amigos-opens-this-april/|website=fadmagazine}}</ref> It ran from 6 April to 9 June and features several new installations including one put amongst some trees which surround the building.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019|title=MARTIN CREED: AMIGOS|url=https://www.centrobotin.org/en/exposicion/martin-creed/|website=centrobotin}}</ref>

In 2019, the [[Museum of Recent Art]] held an exhibition called ''Thinking / Not Thinking''. It ran from 12 February to 2 May and features several installations.

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist|3}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=Art Now|editor-first1=Uta|editor-last1=Grosenick|editor-first2=Burkhard|editor-last2=Riemschneider|publisher=Taschen|location=Köln|edition=25th anniversary|year=2005|pages=68–71|isbn=9783822840931|oclc=191239335}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

* [http://www.martincreed.com Official site] 
*[http://artkrush.com/8668 Artkrush.com interview with Martin Creed (April 2006)]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creed, Martin}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:British conceptual artists]]
[[Category:Turner Prize winners]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art]]
[[Category:Artists from Wakefield]]
[[Category:People from Milton of Campsie]]
[[Category:People educated at Lenzie Academy]]
[[Category:Scottish contemporary artists]]