Issue 3

In his first editorial for "Modern Painters" Peter Fuller introduced the magazine with a quote by Ron Kitaj stating that artists living in Britain were more unique, stronger and more numerous than elsewhere in the world besides America. Fuller denied Kitaj's qualification and declared American art aesthetically bankrupt.
At Art Influence we use a smaller brush to determine the aesthetically interesting and are perhaps not as biased towards British art. This issue includes articles on Aboriginal, Chinese, British and Australian artists. There is a catalogue introduction for an exhibition of British drawing curated by Peter Fuller at Norwich School of Art Gallery in 1985; the exhibition and catalogue were influential before the days of Damian Hurst and art investment companies.
In the last six months we have been contacted by writers who knew and corresponded with Peter Fuller. Gradually we are compiling their thoughts on his work and their correspondence. Lian Duan has written about his aesthetic awakening, which was influenced by the writing of Peter Fuller, and his understanding of Chinese contemporary art. While Michael Haslam, a poet that was a close friend of Peter's at Cambridge during his university days, has collated his correspondence from Peter. Four of the letters were chosen for publication; they are a sequence from 1973 when Peter was undergoing analysis four and a half days a week at the Freud Institute. The letters were chosen because they explain Peter's childhood preoccupations and interests in a way discussed in his autobiography "Marches Past", but in the letters his explanations and anecdotes don't hide any family or personal secrets. Only one artist is mentioned during the entire correspondence, Liliane Lijn. Although it's clear that Peter is referring to her work because of his own Freudian analysis of the works mentioned, I feel it is possible that because Liliane Lijn makes sculptures that include poetry Peter thought Michael may be interested in her work. Therefore I have included images of Lijn's poem machines as well. I came to know Liliane and helped her work on one of her large bronze sculptures after Peter died. I personally disagree with his assessment of her work. Although the editors’ interests are indulged at times on these pages we aim to gather as much information about Peter Fuller, his work and ideas, as possible and publish it.

We would like to hear from people who have written on Peter Fuller’s ideas, his book or programmes or from past contributors to Modern Painters, the magazine that Fuller founded in 1987. If you had a long and interesting dialogue with him via correspondence we would also like to hear from you. READ MORE

Li Zhanyang, 'Rent' - Rent Collection Yard, 2007, detail, "History Observed": Joseph Beuys, Mao Zedong, 195 x 217 x 160 cm. Courtesy: Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne.

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