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P E T E R
L I V E R S I D G E
Proposals for the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art | Ingleby publication | 2010 | 21 x 17 cm | acquired 2012 | photographed by ...
Peter Liversidge experiments with what he describes as the “notion of creativity.” For the past several years, his exhibitions have been centered on the practice of writing proposals for artworks and performances, some to be realized and some not. To commence, the artist sits at his kitchen table, typing a group of one-page proposals on an old manual typewriter, over a predetermined period of time. In most instances, the markings from any corrections are left visible...
For the Ingleby Gallery exhibition “The Thrill of It All” (a title from Proposal No. 132), Liversidge wrote 160 proposals to Richard and Florence Ingleby “[s]tarting no sooner than 14th November and finishing no later than 20th December 2009” (Proposal No. 1). Through negotiation with the gallery and other parties, the proposals were realized—some as objects, performances, or happenings over the course of the exhibition; others not. Proposal No. 15, for instance, which suggested moving all the furniture from the Ingleby family home into the gallery, was not realized. Neither was Proposal No. 32, instructions to run a soup kitchen from the gallery...
Selected performances were announced via the gallery website and mailing list. Viewers had to search for or imagine where the artist “gently placed a beautiful piece of flint” somewhere in the center of Edinburgh (No. 114). Proposal No. 90 and Proposal No. 23 were put together as Gin Performance, 2010, followed by a motivational speech given by Liversidge to Scottish business leaders; for No. 70, the artist went cross-eyed; and for No. 87, Liversidge drove all the available rental cars in Edinburgh, in relay, to Glasgow—fifty miles away...
For Liversidge, proposals not actualized hold just as much importance as those that are, for they remain to be acted upon in the imagination of each viewer. Some are meant to be personal, some poetic: No. 44, “to come and visit from time to time”; No. 58, “to keep everything within arm’s length”; No. 68, “to dress as a well worn path”; No. 89, “to roam in the gloaming...
excerpts taken from Artforum
Having acquired two publications by Peter liversidge from Ingleby gallery, I treasured them. Out of all the art collection, these two works remain the only unsigned pieces or unaccompanied with a certificate of authenticity. Yet authentic they are and for me they hold importance as much as the unrealised proposals are just as valid for the artist as those realised. These works will remain unsigned. I underline this fact as it is important for collection Simon Paul to underline that it is not a financial investment but an art investment about the relevance and energy of the artwork that provokes.
Further Reading | Peter Liversidge